Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 1,976 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 275,009 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,976 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $70,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 2.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. NS Partners Ltd increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 95,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $27,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $786,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on EFX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.69.

Equifax Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $248.59 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $30.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.47, a PEG 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $261.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.