Bank of America Corp DE Boosts Holdings in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Equifax stake by 36.5% in the first quarter, adding 563,880 shares to own 2.11 million shares valued at approximately $379.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.2% of Equifax.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $215.79, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Ratings include 13 Buys, five Holds and one Sell.
• Equifax reported quarterly EPS of $2.25, ahead of expectations, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $1.70 billion. Shares opened at $173.04, and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.56, yielding about 1.3% annually.

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,107,458 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 563,880 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 1.77% of Equifax worth $379,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,056,441 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,097,147,000 after purchasing an additional 66,289 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Equifax by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $942,676,000 after buying an additional 1,145,921 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its position in Equifax by 310.5% during the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $753,515,000 after buying an additional 3,165,120 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Equifax by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $609,693,000 after buying an additional 1,022,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Equifax by 3.9% in the first quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,791,379 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $322,574,000 after acquiring an additional 67,381 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EFX shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Equifax from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $182.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.79.

Equifax Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $173.04 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.74 and a 52-week high of $271.84. The stock has a market cap of $20.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $167.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.05.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. Equifax's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of the business's 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 Equifax stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $6,506,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,808,582.40. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Equifax Company 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.

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