New York Life Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,427 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter valued at about $234,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 2.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,635 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $4,007,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its position in Equifax by 7.8% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 49,143 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,436,000 after buying an additional 3,552 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Equifax by 3.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,513 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 19.3% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,003 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $245.28 on Friday. Equifax Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $213.02 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $256.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $271.67. The company has a market capitalization of $30.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

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.