Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 696 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,997 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 696 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $1,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Equifax by 39.0% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,843 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $2,775,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 184,890 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $54,329,000 after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,572,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,617,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $412,239,000 after buying an additional 791,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 9.3 %

EFX opened at $210.30 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $248.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $261.59. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $209.89 and a 1-year high of $309.63. The company has a market cap of $26.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. Analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on EFX. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Argus lowered shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Equifax from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five research 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, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.50.

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.