Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,533 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,494 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $15,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 39.0% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $54,329,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $3,572,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $244.06 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.52. 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 has a market capitalization of $30.27 billion, a PE ratio of 50.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced 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 net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target 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. Wolfe Research cut shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.56.

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.