Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $942.68 Million Holdings in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services boosted its stake in Equifax by 35.8% in Q4 to 4,344,531 shares (about 3.55% ownership) valued at roughly $942.68 million.
• Equifax beat Q4 estimates with $2.09 EPS and $1.55B revenue (+9.3% YoY), issued FY2026 guidance of 8.30–8.70 EPS (analysts expect 7.58), and the stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target of $238.57.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.56 ($2.24 annualized, ~1.3% yield), while insiders have recently sold shares, including CEO Mark Begor's sale of 37,791 shares.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,145,921 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 3.55% of Equifax worth $942,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Equifax by 2.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Spear Holdings RSC Ltd acquired a new position in Equifax during the third quarter worth about $76,754,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 956.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 328,592 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $84,248,000 after acquiring an additional 297,489 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Equifax by 121.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 540,896 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $138,756,000 after acquiring an additional 296,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Equifax by 43.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 775,866 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $199,033,000 after acquiring an additional 236,022 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE:EFX opened at $177.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average is $189.56 and its 200-day moving average is $209.54. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $166.02 and a 1-year high of $281.03.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.53 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 10.87%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.12 earnings per share. Equifax has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.700 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.630-1.730 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on EFX. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 target price on Equifax in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Equifax in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Equifax from $253.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on Equifax from $295.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.57.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.89, for a total value of $7,629,624.99. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,536,856.34. The trade was a 14.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 1,167 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.87, for a total value of $233,248.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,968,617.03. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 49,671 shares of company stock worth $9,960,181. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EFX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.