Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV Reduces Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV trimmed its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 100,304 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,780 shares during the quarter. Equifax comprises 12.6% of Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV’s holdings in Equifax were worth $24,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 193 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 199 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of Equifax stock traded down $20.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $217.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,304,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 806,962. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Equifax Inc. has a 12 month low of $159.95 and a 12 month high of $275.10. The firm has a market cap of $27.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.51. The business’s 50-day moving average is $259.14 and its 200 day moving average is $231.05.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.40% and a net margin of 10.36%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is 35.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $195.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Equifax from $273.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America raised Equifax from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $164.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. TheStreet upgraded Equifax from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Equifax from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $210.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.