Austin Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Austin Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,070 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Equifax by 3.5% in the first quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,518 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 4.0% in the first quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,041 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $267.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $257.62 and its 200 day moving average is $224.75. The company has a market cap of $33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 60.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Equifax Inc. has a 1 year low of $159.95 and a 1 year high of $275.10.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The credit services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.07. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 10.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.51 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 35.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Redburn Atlantic lowered Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $272.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Equifax from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $218.00 to $267.00 in a report on Friday, December 8th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $273.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $208.00 to $289.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.22.

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.