Bleakley Financial Group LLC Has $836,000 Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,281 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 709 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Equifax by 2.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,329,000 after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 3.7% in 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 buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. NS Partners Ltd lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $786,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $248.59 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $30.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $261.12 and its 200 day moving average is $274.92. 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 (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of Equifax 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday. 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 research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their target price on Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.69.

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.