Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 363 Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 363 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $93,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,898 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,836,000 after buying an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $3,572,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 797 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 833 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $335.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus downgraded shares of Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $320.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equifax from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen 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 an average price target of $301.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Lisa M. Nelson sold 551 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,045,781.83. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.57% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 1.2 %

EFX stock opened at $246.49 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Equifax Inc. has a twelve month low of $213.02 and a twelve month high of $309.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.65.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12. Equifax had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 19.13%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equifax Inc. will post 7.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

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.