Metis Global Partners LLC Has $1.44 Million Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $244.38 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $30.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $255.86 and a 200-day moving average of $271.01.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on EFX. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.13.

Equifax Company 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.