Cerity Partners LLC Sells 437 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,075 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 437 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $4,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of EFX stock opened at $220.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $257.56.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on EFX shares. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BNP Paribas downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, March 14th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.13.

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.