Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Lowers Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. decreased its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,745 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,532 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $4,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EFX. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equifax by 70.8% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in Equifax by 55.5% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $242.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $259.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $30.18 billion, a PE ratio of 55.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.51. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $275.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.36% and a return on equity of 19.40%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Equifax Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on EFX shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $273.00 to $291.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America raised shares of Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $164.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $272.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Equifax from $195.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $267.00.

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.