Allianz Asset Management GmbH Purchases 24,295 Shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 409,026 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,295 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Equifax were worth $104,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of Equifax from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $301.13.

Equifax Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:EFX opened at $238.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.28, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.58. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $213.02 and a 12 month high of $309.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.93.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.39, for a total transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equifax 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.