Equifax, Inc. $EFX Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its Equifax stake by 54.6% in the first quarter, leaving it with 8,166 shares valued at approximately $1.47 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.2% of Equifax.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 13 Buy, five Hold, and one Sell rating, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $215.79 despite several target-price reductions.
• Equifax exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $2.25 versus the $2.20 consensus, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $1.70 billion. CEO Mark Begor separately sold 37,791 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 54.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,166 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 9,815 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Equifax were worth $1,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Equifax by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in Equifax by 699.9% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 8,671 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,249,000 after buying an additional 7,587 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Equifax during the second quarter valued at approximately $20,455,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on EFX shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Equifax from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Equifax from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equifax has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.79.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $182.47 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 fifty-two week low of $150.74 and a fifty-two week high of $271.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $169.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.59. The firm has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a PE ratio of 32.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.30.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%.Equifax's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total transaction of $6,506,098.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,890 shares in the company, valued at $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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