Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,876 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 371 shares during the quarter. Equifax accounts for 2.0% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.13% of Equifax worth $38,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EFX. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,507 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 11,077 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,739,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $612,000. Finally, Conning Inc. bought a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Price Performance

NYSE EFX traded down $1.31 on Friday, hitting $216.20. 2,083,166 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 842,031. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $26.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.51. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $159.95 and a 1-year high of $275.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $257.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $231.21.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The credit services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.06. Equifax had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 19.33%. The business had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Equifax’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.53 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Equifax from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $275.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $272.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $266.35.

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.