Equifax, Inc. $EFX Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Equifax by 16.1%, selling 39,419 shares and owning 205,096 shares worth approximately $49.95 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Equifax reported $2.00 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.92, with revenue increasing by 7.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, which will be paid on September 15th, indicating a 0.8% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 39.14%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 205,096 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 39,419 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.17% of Equifax worth $49,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Equifax in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in Equifax by 505.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 121 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, City Holding Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Equifax stock traded up $2.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $240.32. The company had a trading volume of 387,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company's 50-day moving average is $250.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.86. The company has a market cap of $29.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.68. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $199.98 and a twelve month high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.08. Equifax had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Equifax's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equifax has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.870-1.970 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.330-7.630 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $296.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 price target (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.53.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total transaction of $11,665,891.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. This represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.