GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. Purchases 2,244 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in Equifax, Inc. by 0.9% in the first quarter, now holding 247,475 shares valued at approximately $60.3 million.
• CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of Equifax stock, representing a 25.25% decrease in his ownership, following a total transaction value of over $11.6 million.
• Equifax recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, with an annual yield of 0.8%, and a dividend payout ratio of 39.14%.

GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 247,475 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,244 shares during the period. Equifax makes up approximately 7.0% of GFI Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. GFI Investment Counsel Ltd. owned approximately 0.20% of Equifax worth $60,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EFX. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 7,883,233.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 946,000 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $241,087,000 after purchasing an additional 945,988 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 119.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,453,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $354,044,000 after acquiring an additional 790,919 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 24,315.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 696,094 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $169,541,000 after purchasing an additional 693,243 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,027,817 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,281,340,000 after purchasing an additional 679,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Equifax by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,708,331 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,582,361,000 after acquiring an additional 318,826 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of EFX traded down $2.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $248.52. The company had a trading volume of 190,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,048,407. The company's 50 day moving average price is $252.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $250.28. The stock has a market cap of $30.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.59, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.64. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.98 and a 52 week high of $309.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The company's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total transaction of $11,665,891.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,533,591.12. This represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.53.

Equifax Company Profile

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.