Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Invests $1.98 Million in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,700 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,975,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Equifax by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter worth approximately $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 14.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 79.5% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,481 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Equifax by 13.0% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 676 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.89, for a total transaction of $7,629,624.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 230,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,536,856.34. This represents a 14.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.72, for a total value of $880,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,532,018.12. This trade represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 49,671 shares of company stock worth $9,960,181 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EFX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $295.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Equifax from $253.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group set a $230.00 price objective on Equifax in a report on Thursday, February 5th. 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 note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Equifax from $235.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $240.33.

Equifax Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:EFX opened at $191.36 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.55. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $166.02 and a twelve month high of $281.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $204.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.04. Equifax had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equifax has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.300-8.700 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.630-1.730 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.11%.

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.