HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 46,218 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 13,464 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equifax were worth $10,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Equifax during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Equifax by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Equifax in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of EFX opened at $164.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $176.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $156.47 and a 12 month high of $275.91.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. 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, research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group cut their target price on Equifax from $245.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Equifax from $210.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 target price on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Equifax from $240.00 to $215.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total transaction of $426,899.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,885.02. This represents a 7.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total value of $6,515,168.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,846,252. The trade was a 12.21% 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 owned by corporate insiders.

About Equifax

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.