BlackRock Inc. Purchases New Shares in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 9.4 million Equifax shares worth approximately $1.49 billion, giving it an 8.0% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 96.2% of the company.
• Equifax exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $2.25 versus the $2.20 consensus, while revenue reached $1.70 billion, up 10.6% year over year. The company issued full-year 2026 EPS guidance of $8.39 to $8.69.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $215.79, compared with the stock’s reported price of $192.20. Equifax also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, yielding about 1.2% annually.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,396,150 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,491,357,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 8.00% of Equifax as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $192.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.30. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $171.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.01.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. Equifax's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. Equities analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Equifax from $243.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Equifax from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $182.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.79.

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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