Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 336 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 77.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 771 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 371 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Equifax by 3.0% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,665 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 1.9% in the third quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $267.09 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $261.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.11 billion, a PE ratio of 59.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $315.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Profile

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.