Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP increased its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,524 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,744 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Equifax were worth $21,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Equifax by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,572,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Equifax by 95.9% during 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 in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of EFX opened at $240.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.81 billion, a PE ratio of 49.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $251.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.63. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on EFX. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research lowered Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.