Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 41,454 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Equifax stake by 40.9% in Q1, buying 41,454 shares and bringing its holding to 142,793 shares worth about $25.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions, and institutional ownership remains very high at 96.2%.
• Equifax insiders sold shares recently, including CEO Mark W. Begor and EVP Chad M. Borton, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $223.78.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 142,793 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 41,454 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.12% of Equifax worth $25,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in Equifax by 612.5% in the 4th quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 114 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other Equifax news, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total transaction of $426,899.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,132,885.02. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total transaction of $6,515,168.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,846,252. The trade was 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on EFX. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Equifax from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Equifax in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup cut their price target on Equifax from $256.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on Equifax from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equifax from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.78.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $158.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.32. Equifax, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.74 and a fifty-two week high of $275.91. 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 (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.Equifax's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

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.

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