Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 33,419 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management cut its Equifax stake by 50.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 33,419 shares and leaving it with 32,760 shares valued at about $7.1 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, while also raising guidance for Q2 and full-year 2026.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, payable June 15, and analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $228.06.

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 50.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,760 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 33,419 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Equifax were worth $7,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in EFX. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,145,921 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 316,048 shares during the period. Spear Holdings RSC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth $76,754,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 956.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 328,592 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $84,248,000 after purchasing an additional 297,489 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 121.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 540,896 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $138,756,000 after purchasing an additional 296,816 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $159.99 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $182.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.15. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $157.59 and a 12-month high of $281.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on EFX. Citigroup reduced their target price on Equifax from $256.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Equifax from $240.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Equifax from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Equifax from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.06.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.72, for a total transaction of $880,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,532,018.12. This represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,846,252. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,746 shares of company stock worth $7,822,808. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

About Equifax

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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