Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Reduces Stock Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC cut its position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,224 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 1,615 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Equifax were worth $2,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group cut their price target on Equifax from $335.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $325.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Gordon Haskett raised Equifax to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $292.00.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX stock traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $255.36. The company had a trading volume of 183,253 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,132,295. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $31.72 billion, a PE ratio of 52.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $199.98 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $236.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.52.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The credit services provider reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.90%.

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.