BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 53,568 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its Equifax stake by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 53,568 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 233,147 shares worth about $50.6 million.
• Equifax continues to draw strong institutional interest, with 96.2% of the stock owned by institutional investors. Vanguard, State Street, and Massachusetts Financial Services also reported sizable positions.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, posting $1.86 EPS versus $1.69 expected, while revenue rose 14.3% year over year to $1.65 billion. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $226.67.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,147 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 53,568 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.19% of Equifax worth $50,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equifax by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,282,951 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $3,920,535,000 after purchasing an additional 316,048 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Equifax by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,990,152 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,280,124,000 after purchasing an additional 21,255 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Equifax by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $942,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,921 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP grew its position in Equifax by 6.3% in the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 2,736,467 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $701,986,000 after acquiring an additional 163,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 0.6% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,736,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $445,524,000 after acquiring an additional 9,741 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Equifax from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets set a $195.00 price target on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equifax has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total value of $426,899.95. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,846,252. This trade represents 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. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock opened at $176.13 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $174.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.54. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.47 and a fifty-two week high of $275.91. The company has a market capitalization of $20.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.32.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

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.

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