The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Lowers Stock Holdings in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its Equifax stake by 9.2% in the first quarter, selling 6,400 shares and retaining 62,991 shares valued at approximately $11.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 96.2% of Equifax.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 13 Buy, five Hold and one Sell rating; the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $215.79.
• Equifax reported quarterly EPS of $2.25, exceeding estimates by $0.05, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $1.70 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, representing a 1.3% yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,991 shares of the credit services provider's stock after selling 6,400 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.05% of Equifax worth $11,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equifax by 612.5% during the 4th quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 114 shares of the credit services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on EFX shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $182.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Equifax from $245.00 to $232.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equifax from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of Equifax from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.79.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EFX opened at $174.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.74 and a 1-year high of $271.84. The company has a market capitalization of $20.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $167.88 and a 200-day moving average of $180.75.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%.The company's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Equifax's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $6,506,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,808,582.40. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total transaction of $426,899.95. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,132,885.02. This trade represents 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. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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