Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 224,073 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its stake in Equifax by 52.6% in Q4, buying 224,073 shares to hold 650,391 shares (about 0.53% of the company) valued at roughly $141.2 million.
• Equifax beat quarterly estimates with EPS of $1.86 versus $1.69 and revenue of $1.65 billion (up 14.3% YoY), and set Q2 2026 guidance of $2.150–2.250 and FY 2026 guidance of $8.340–8.740 EPS.
• Dividend raised: the company increased its quarterly payout from $0.50 to $0.56 (annualized $2.24), implying a ~1.3% yield and a payout ratio around 39.4%.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 52.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 650,391 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 224,073 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.53% of Equifax worth $141,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFX. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,145,921 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 316,048 shares during the period. Spear Holdings RSC Ltd bought a new stake in Equifax in the third quarter worth about $76,754,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 297,489 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 296,816 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $170.89 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $187.96 and its 200-day moving average is $204.24. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $166.02 and a 12-month high of $281.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.56.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. Equifax's revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. Equifax has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.340-8.740 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This is a boost from Equifax's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Equifax's payout ratio is currently 39.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 1,167 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.87, for a total transaction of $233,248.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,968,617.03. This represents a 2.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.89, for a total transaction of $7,629,624.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,506 shares in the company, valued at $46,536,856.34. This trade represents a 14.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,671 shares of company stock valued at $9,960,181. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $222.00 price target on the stock. Argus raised shares of Equifax to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $240.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.88.

Equifax 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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