Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $133.51 Million Stake in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its Equifax stake by 14% in the first quarter, ending with 741,685 shares valued at about $133.5 million.
• Equifax reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.86 topping estimates and revenue rising 14.3% year over year to $1.65 billion; it also issued full-year guidance of $8.34 to $8.74 EPS.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with Equifax carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $223.78, though several firms have recently trimmed their targets.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 741,685 shares of the credit services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 91,294 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.61% of Equifax worth $133,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of EFX. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Equifax by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,056,441 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $1,097,147,000 after purchasing an additional 66,289 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,344,531 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $942,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,921 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equifax by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,809,879 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $609,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,819 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,736,731 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $445,524,000 after buying an additional 9,741 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Equifax by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,723,998 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $374,073,000 after buying an additional 12,995 shares during the period. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EFX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Equifax from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Equifax from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Mizuho initiated coverage on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $222.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.78.

Equifax Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $158.64 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $167.93 and its 200 day moving average is $189.24. Equifax, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.74 and a 12-month high of $275.91. The stock has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.17. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business's 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total value of $6,515,168.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,846,252. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total value of $426,899.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,885.02. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company 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.

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