Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Bought by Linscomb Wealth Inc.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 483 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $950,268,000 after buying an additional 880,162 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $412,239,000 after acquiring an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Equifax by 34.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $251,480,000 after purchasing an additional 220,109 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Equifax by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,052,213 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $268,156,000 after purchasing an additional 159,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $28,585,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of EFX opened at $245.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $30.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $256.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.67. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

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.