Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd significantly increased its stake in Equifax, growing its holdings by 642.4% during the first quarter, amounting to 24,661 shares valued at approximately $6 million.
• Equifax reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.00, exceeding analyst expectations by 8 cents, alongside a year-over-year revenue growth of 7.4%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share set to be paid on September 15th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%.

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd grew its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 642.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,661 shares of the credit services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 21,339 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd's holdings in Equifax were worth $6,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,708,331 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $3,582,361,000 after buying an additional 318,826 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Equifax by 40.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,037,804 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $1,714,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009,987 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Equifax by 119.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,453,618 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $354,044,000 after purchasing an additional 790,919 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Equifax by 2.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,240,783 shares of the credit services provider's stock worth $302,205,000 after buying an additional 33,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Equifax by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,115,084 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $271,590,000 after purchasing an additional 37,555 shares during the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 48,264 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.71, for a total transaction of $11,665,891.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 142,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,533,591.12. This trade represents a 25.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EFX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equifax from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Equifax from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America cut shares of Equifax from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $285.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $305.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Equifax from $277.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX traded down $2.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $243.77. 735,186 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,025,016. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $30.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.24. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.98 and a 1-year high of $309.63.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The credit services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.08. Equifax had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 10.95%.The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.870-1.970 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.330-7.630 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.14%.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship.