Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 263,809 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 14,055 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $47,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Equifax by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,056,441 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,097,147,000 after buying an additional 66,289 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Equifax by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $942,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,921 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Equifax by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $609,693,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,819 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,736,731 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $445,524,000 after acquiring an additional 9,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,723,998 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $374,073,000 after acquiring an additional 12,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE EFX opened at $166.47 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $185.67. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $150.74 and a twelve month high of $271.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $19.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.32.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Equifax from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.39.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total value of $426,899.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,132,885.02. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total transaction of $6,515,168.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,846,252. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Equifax

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.