Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 97.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,096 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 1,565,290 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Equifax were worth $5,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Equifax by 16.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 401 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Athena Investment Management increased its position in shares of Equifax by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 2,608 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in Equifax by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,980 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Equifax by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,043 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Equifax by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Equifax from $243.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $208.00 price objective on Equifax and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 price target (up from $173.00) on shares of Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equifax

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,808,582.40. This trade represents a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 currently owned by insiders.

Equifax Stock Performance

NYSE EFX opened at $185.58 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $177.42 and a 200-day moving average of $177.92. Equifax, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.74 and a fifty-two week high of $271.84. The stock has a market cap of $21.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.73% and a return on equity of 21.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous 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 predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend 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.