VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Takes $140,000 Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 550 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $140,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Equifax by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of EFX opened at $242.10 on Thursday. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63. The stock has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a PE ratio of 50.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $253.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus lowered Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given 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 target price of $298.47.

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.