Madison Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Madison Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 50.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,760 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 33,419 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $7,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EFX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the first quarter worth about $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 14.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Equifax by 14.5% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,979,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in Equifax by 699.9% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 8,671 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,249,000 after buying an additional 7,587 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,885.02. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total transaction of $6,515,168.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,846,252. The trade was a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 44,746 shares of company stock worth $7,822,808 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on EFX shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus raised shares of Equifax to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $253.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $195.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.06.

Equifax Stock Down 4.1%

NYSE:EFX opened at $159.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. Equifax, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $157.59 and a fifty-two week high of $281.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $200.15.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. Analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

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.