Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,365 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Equifax were worth $3,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 52,489 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,233,744 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $950,268,000 after purchasing an additional 880,162 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Equifax by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 29,742 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 76,913.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,362 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $282,212,000 after purchasing an additional 959,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 34.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 863,718 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $251,480,000 after buying an additional 220,109 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $248.59 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a PE ratio of 51.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.92.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Research analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total value of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EFX. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.69.

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.