Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Invests $693,000 in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,720 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $693,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Equifax by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,702 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equifax by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equifax by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 799 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 3.7% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $244.38 on Tuesday. Equifax Inc. has a 12-month low of $213.02 and a 12-month high of $309.63. The business has a 50 day moving average of $255.86 and a 200-day moving average of $271.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $30.31 billion, a PE ratio of 50.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.58.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The credit services provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.12. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.13% and a net margin of 10.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Equifax Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 32.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus lowered Equifax from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, February 7th. 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 note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Equifax to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $301.13.

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.