Erste Asset Management GmbH Reduces Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 92.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 946 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 10,834 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Equifax were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the first quarter valued at about $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 14.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Equifax in the second quarter worth about $288,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 17.3% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,779 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Equifax from $295.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group set a $230.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.33.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $208.20 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $25.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.21. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $166.02 and a 12-month high of $281.03.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. Equifax’s payout ratio is 37.59%.

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.