Equifax, Inc. $EFX Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 96.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,831 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 110,839 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equifax during the second quarter worth $1,491,357,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Equifax by 310.5% in the 1st quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 4,184,569 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $753,515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,165,120 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Equifax by 36.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,107,458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $379,490,000 after acquiring an additional 563,880 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at $290,868,000. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,791,379 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $322,574,000 after purchasing an additional 67,381 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Equifax from $212.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Equifax from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Equifax from $230.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Equifax from $179.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.52.

Equifax Price Performance

Equifax stock opened at $177.12 on Wednesday. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.01 and a 52-week high of $238.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $166.97 and its 200 day moving average is $169.93. The company has a market cap of $20.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.35.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The credit services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.06. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.37%.

Key Headlines Impacting Equifax

Here are the key news stories impacting Equifax this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings beat expectations: Adjusted EPS was $2.26, above the $2.20 analyst consensus and up from $2.04 a year earlier. Revenue reached $1.693 billion, essentially in line with estimates and 9.6% higher year over year. Equifax earnings results
• Positive Sentiment: Diversified businesses remained strong: U.S. Information Solutions revenue increased 13%, International revenue rose 9%, and Workforce Solutions grew 7%. Diversified markets revenue advanced approximately 8%, helping offset mortgage-related weakness. Equifax third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and AI initiatives supported the beat: Lower selling, general and administrative expenses helped lift earnings, while management cited artificial-intelligence investments and related efficiency gains as longer-term growth opportunities. Equifax earnings beat and lower SG&A expenses
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns continued: Equifax returned $158 million to shareholders during the quarter, including $92 million in share repurchases and $66 million in dividends.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mortgage weakness remains the main headwind: Rising interest rates caused U.S. mortgage transaction volumes to weaken late in the quarter. Although mortgage-related revenue had still increased, management expects the difficult market to persist through year-end. Equifax mortgage market update
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance was reduced: Equifax lowered its full-year 2026 reported revenue outlook to $6.646 billion-$6.676 billion, and its fourth-quarter revenue forecast of $1.605 billion-$1.635 billion was viewed as below some expectations. A lower Mizuho price target, reduced to $185 from $210 while maintaining an Outperform rating, also limits near-term upside.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.96, for a total value of $845,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 69,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,979,577.80. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Begor sold 37,791 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total value of $6,506,098.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,808,582.40. This represents a 12.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Equifax

Equifax Inc (NYSE: EFX) is a global data, analytics and technology company that provides information and services to help businesses, governments and consumers make informed financial and workforce decisions. The company is best known for its credit reporting activities, but its offerings also include identity verification, fraud prevention, income and employment verification, marketing services and risk management solutions.

Equifax provides consumer and commercial credit information, credit reports and related analytics to lenders and other businesses.