B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 800 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG decreased its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Equifax were worth $11,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 151 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $240.37 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.39. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The firm has a market cap of $29.81 billion, a PE ratio of 49.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 32.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Four investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $298.56.

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.