Meritage Group LP Acquires Shares of 155,295 Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Meritage Group LP bought a new stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 155,295 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $24,648,000. Equifax makes up 0.9% of Meritage Group LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Equifax by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 650,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $141,199,000 after purchasing an additional 224,073 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Equifax by 49.2% during the 4th 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. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 1,253.8% during the fourth quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 24,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $5,420,000 after buying an additional 23,133 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter worth approximately $1,098,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 39.9% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,389,000 after buying an additional 9,710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $6,506,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,890 shares in the company, valued at $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equifax Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $192.98 on Monday. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.74 and a 52-week high of $271.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $22.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.97.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. Analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s payout ratio is currently 39.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $182.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Equifax from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Equifax from $222.00 to $194.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $216.89.

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.