ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stake in Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,466 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 556 shares during the period. Equifax makes up about 1.6% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Equifax worth $38,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 153.8% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 73,832 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $18,816,000 after buying an additional 44,739 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,970 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,599,000 after purchasing an additional 5,066 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Equifax by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,716 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $1,457,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,053,000. Finally, Sendero Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equifax in the fourth quarter worth about $3,070,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $143,474.89. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,045,781.83. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Kelley III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.92, for a total transaction of $272,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,269 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,075,535.48. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,855 shares of company stock worth $16,187,044 over the last quarter. 1.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EFX shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $340.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley raised Equifax from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Equifax from $290.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.12.

Equifax Stock Down 0.5 %

EFX stock opened at $262.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.57. Equifax Inc. has a 52 week low of $213.02 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $257.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.66. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 34.67%.

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.