Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $28.59 Million in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 112,163 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,585,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,329,000 after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 84.1% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares during the period. NS Partners Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.3% in the third quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 95,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at $3,572,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on EFX shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

Equifax Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE EFX opened at $245.28 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.42 billion, a PE ratio of 50.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

About Equifax

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.