Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs boosted its stake in Equifax by 91% in the fourth quarter, buying 697,403 additional shares and lifting its holding to 1,464,135 shares worth about $317.7 million.
• Equifax reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.86 versus $1.69 expected and revenue of $1.65 billion versus $1.61 billion expected. The company also raised guidance for Q2 2026 and full-year 2026.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, implying an annualized payout of $2.24 and a yield of about 1.3%. Meanwhile, analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $226.67.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 91.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,464,135 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 697,403 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.20% of Equifax worth $317,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,282,951 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,920,535,000 after acquiring an additional 316,048 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Equifax by 0.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,990,152 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,280,124,000 after acquiring an additional 21,255 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Equifax by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $942,676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,921 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP raised 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 during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised 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 during the period. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock opened at $171.97 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $174.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.32. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $156.47 and a 1-year high of $275.91.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Equifax's revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. 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, analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equifax 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 approximately $46,846,252. This 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. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equifax from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus raised shares of Equifax to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $210.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.67.

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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