Meritage Group LP Invests $43.52 Million in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 169,633 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $43,516,000. Equifax accounts for 1.2% of Meritage Group LP’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 79.5% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Equifax by 13.0% during the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.72, for a total value of $880,740.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,532,018.12. This represents a 7.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.89, for a total value of $7,629,624.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 230,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,536,856.34. The trade was a 14.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 49,671 shares of company stock worth $9,960,181 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus upgraded Equifax to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Equifax from $235.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Equifax from $269.00 to $244.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $195.00 price objective on Equifax in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $240.33.

Equifax Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of Equifax stock traded up $4.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $186.55. 135,092 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,838,109. The stock has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $204.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Equifax, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $166.02 and a fifty-two week high of $281.03.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 10.87%.The business’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.12 earnings per share. Equifax has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.700 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.630-1.730 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.11%.

Equifax Profile

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that specializes in consumer and commercial credit reporting, decisioning tools and identity solutions. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax is one of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies in the United States and provides credit information and related services to lenders, employers, governments and consumers worldwide.

The company’s offerings include consumer credit reports and scores, credit monitoring and identity protection services, and a range of business-oriented products for risk management, fraud detection and compliance.