Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $1.68 Million Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,580 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 58,120 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,812,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Equifax by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 30,054 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,659,000 after purchasing an additional 12,035 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 254 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in shares of Equifax by 58.3% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,860 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $237.14 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.10, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.68. Equifax Inc. has a one year low of $213.02 and a one year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. Research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Equifax 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.