Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys 49,881 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management sharply increased its Equifax stake in the fourth quarter, buying 49,881 additional shares to bring its total holdings to 53,574 shares worth about $11.6 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 forecast; the company also reiterated guidance for Q2 and FY 2026.
• Despite the earnings beat, insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Mark W. Begor’s April sale of 37,791 shares, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $226.67.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 1,350.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,574 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 49,881 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Equifax were worth $11,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the first quarter valued at $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 14.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 14.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,632 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,979,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 699.9% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 8,671 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EFX. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price target on Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Equifax from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Equifax from $245.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.67.

Insider Activity

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

Equifax Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $162.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $177.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.65. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.47 and a 52-week high of $275.91.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. Analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. Equifax's payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

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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