Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Stock Holdings Cut by TimesSquare Capital Management LLC

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 222,082 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 25,733 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Equifax worth $56,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 98.7% during the 4th 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. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares in the company, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.66% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $246.49 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.02 and a 1 year high of $309.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.65. The firm has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EFX. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus lowered Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Equifax from $304.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.13.

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.