Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Stake in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 331,824 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,610 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $85,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EFX. Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in Equifax in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Equifax by 82.9% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 128 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 694.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 143 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on EFX. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Equifax from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Equifax from $253.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Equifax to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 1,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.87, for a total transaction of $233,248.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,968,617.03. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.89, for a total transaction of $7,629,624.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,536,856.34. This represents a 14.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 49,671 shares of company stock worth $9,960,181 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $204.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $205.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.62 billion, a PE ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.55. Equifax, Inc. has a 1 year low of $166.02 and a 1 year high of $281.03.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The credit services provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Equifax had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 10.87%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. 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, equities research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.59%.

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.