Brighton Jones LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 49.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EFX. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,646,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in Equifax by 2.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 84.1% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NS Partners Ltd increased its position in shares of Equifax by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 95,010 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $27,920,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of EFX stock opened at $268.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.72, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $258.65 and a 200 day moving average of $274.25. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 34.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EFX. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $320.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.12.

Insider Activity

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

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.