Aviva PLC Sells 77,560 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Aviva PLC lessened its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 305,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 77,560 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.25% of Equifax worth $77,982,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equifax by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,389,505 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,667,165,000 after acquiring an additional 135,009 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,816,186 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,284,000 after purchasing an additional 52,489 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,957,204 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $751,645,000 after buying an additional 71,543 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,835,102 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $467,676,000 after buying an additional 9,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Equifax by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 9.3 %

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $210.30 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $248.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.59. The company has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.54, a PEG 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. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $209.89 and a 12-month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.50.

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.