Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Cuts Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,322 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 3,322 shares during the quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Equifax were worth $847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of Equifax by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 817 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $286.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.56.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $245.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $252.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $264.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.75. Equifax Inc. has a 52-week low of $213.02 and a 52-week high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share 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 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.30%.

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.