North Star Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

North Star Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 125,367 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $19,898,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 612.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 114 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,890 shares in the company, valued at $46,808,582.40. This trade represents a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EFX shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Equifax from $265.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Equifax from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $182.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Equifax from $243.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fourteen research 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, Equifax presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.89.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $190.60 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $174.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.30. Equifax, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.74 and a 52 week high of $271.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equifax has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.250 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.390-8.690 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 39.37%.

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.