Equifax, Inc. $EFX Shares Bought by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 6.9% to own 477,769 shares, valued at approximately $116.37 million.
• Equifax recently reported earnings of $2.00 per share, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.92, with revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter.
• Analyst ratings reflect mixed forecasts for Equifax, with target prices adjusted; UBS Group set a target at $278.00, while Wells Fargo reduced theirs to $300.00.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 477,769 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,855 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.38% of Equifax worth $116,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,595 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Equifax by 3.8% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,395 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Equifax by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 9.5% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 738 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Equifax by 0.4% in the first quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total value of $11,665,891.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Up 3.9%

EFX stock traded up $9.4880 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $254.9380. The company had a trading volume of 891,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,066,251. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $31.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.64. Equifax, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.98 and a fifty-two week high of $309.63.

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

Equifax Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EFX has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Equifax from $277.00 to $272.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Equifax from $315.00 to $278.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Equifax from $294.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America lowered Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Equifax from $296.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.53.

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.