Allianz SE Invests $1.60 Million in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,249 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,595,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,667,165,000 after purchasing an additional 135,009 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Equifax by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,284,000 after buying an additional 52,489 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,885,661 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $845,041,000 after buying an additional 29,742 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $467,676,000 after acquiring an additional 9,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 95.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $412,239,000 after acquiring an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $240.37 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $263.63. The company has a market cap of $29.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.77, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer lowered 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. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.56.

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.