Man Group plc Acquires New Shares in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Man Group plc acquired 517,102 Equifax shares worth approximately $82.1 million in the second quarter, giving it about a 0.44% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 96.2% of Equifax.
• CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares for roughly $6.5 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing his direct holdings by 12.2%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Equifax carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $216.89. The company also exceeded quarterly EPS estimates and declared a $0.56-per-share dividend.

Man Group plc bought a new position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 517,102 shares of the credit services provider's stock, valued at approximately $82,074,000. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.44% of Equifax at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Equifax by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 401 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 2,608 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Equifax by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,043 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Equifax by 3.8% in the first quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total transaction of $6,506,098.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on EFX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $182.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Equifax from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Equifax from $195.00 to $179.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Equifax from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $216.89.

Equifax Stock Performance

EFX opened at $192.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $173.25 and a 200 day moving average of $178.19. Equifax, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.74 and a fifty-two week high of $271.84.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The business's quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.37%.

Equifax Company 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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