Harris Associates L P Has $1.11 Billion Stock Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Harris Associates L P increased its stake in Equifax, Inc. by 27.6% in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately 4.57 million shares, valued at over $1.1 billion.
• Equifax reported a $2.00 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, and an annual guidance of 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share to be paid on September 15, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,570,557 shares of the credit services provider's stock after buying an additional 987,772 shares during the period. Equifax accounts for approximately 1.9% of Harris Associates L P's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Harris Associates L P owned 3.68% of Equifax worth $1,113,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Equifax by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its position in Equifax by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 2,643 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Equifax by 1,933.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 108,992 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $27,777,000 after buying an additional 103,631 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its position in Equifax by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 998 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the fourth quarter worth $353,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Equifax from $315.00 to $278.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Equifax from $310.00 to $289.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.53.

Equifax Stock Up 3.8%

Equifax stock traded up $9.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $249.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,381,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,047,479. The firm's 50 day moving average is $250.16 and its 200 day moving average is $249.80. The company has a market cap of $30.93 billion, a PE ratio of 48.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $199.98 and a 52-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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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, analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 39.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.