Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 96 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,774 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.56.

Equifax Trading Down 1.4 %

EFX opened at $240.37 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $251.43 and its 200-day moving average is $263.86. The company has a market cap of $29.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.77, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

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.