HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 6,295 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors cut its Equifax stake by 33.4%, selling 6,295 shares and retaining 12,533 shares valued at approximately $1.99 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.2% of Equifax.
• Equifax insiders also reported sales, including CEO Mark Begor’s $6.5 million transaction and EVP John Gamble’s $845,820 sale; both were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $215.16. Equifax also beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $2.25 in EPS versus $2.20 expected, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share.

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 33.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,533 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,295 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $1,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the first quarter worth about $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Equifax by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,632 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,979,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its stake in Equifax by 699.9% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 8,671 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,791 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $6,506,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,808,582.40. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total value of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 69,055 shares in the company, valued at $12,979,577.80. The trade was a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Equifax from $243.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Equifax from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $214.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Friday, August 21st. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Equifax from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $215.16.

Equifax Stock Performance

Equifax stock opened at $168.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $179.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.08. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.74 and a 52-week high of $271.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.37%.

Equifax Company Profile

Equifax Inc NYSE: EFX is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information solutions to businesses, government agencies and consumers. Its services help organizations assess credit risk, prevent fraud, verify identities, market products and make informed decisions about lending, employment and other transactions.

The company's offerings include consumer and commercial credit reports, credit scores, fraud-prevention and identity-management tools, income and employment verification services, mortgage and housing data, and workforce-management solutions.

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