Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $70.09 Million Position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 275,009 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,976 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Equifax worth $70,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC increased its position in Equifax by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 271.5% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 977 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Renaissance Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the third quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth $222,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

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

Equifax Stock Up 0.4 %

Equifax stock opened at $248.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $261.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $274.92. Equifax Inc. has a 1-year low of $213.02 and a 1-year high of $309.63. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on EFX. Wolfe Research downgraded Equifax from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Needham & Company LLC cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Equifax from $321.00 to $313.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Equifax from $284.00 to $281.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $301.69.

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.