Citigroup Inc. Increases Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 4.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 90,224 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,604 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $23,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,282,951 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $3,920,535,000 after purchasing an additional 316,048 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Equifax by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,968,897 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,288,783,000 after buying an additional 66,914 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Equifax by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,142,763 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $811,650,000 after acquiring an additional 75,627 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,726,990 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $447,928,000 after acquiring an additional 140,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax in the second quarter worth $334,521,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Equifax this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board approves 12% quarterly dividend increase to $0.56/share (ex-dividend Mar 9, payable Mar 17) — raises shareholder yield and signals confidence in cash flow. Dividend Increase
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and guidance supportive: Q4 EPS beat (reported $2.09 vs. $2.05 est.), revenue $1.55B vs. $1.53B est., and FY2026 guidance set at $8.30–$8.70 — reinforces growth narrative and helped lift sentiment. Earnings Roundup
• Positive Sentiment: Leadership hire: David Smith named President of U.S. Information Solutions, effective March 2 — management change framed as execution-focused, intended to accelerate post‑cloud growth and EFX.AI product adoption. Appointment
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro: US consumer debt rose to $18.2T in late-2025 — could increase demand for credit risk and analytics products (positive for volumes) but also signal higher credit stress ahead; impact on Equifax revenue is ambiguous near term. Consumer Debt Report
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~47.7% in February to ~5.35M shares (≈4.5% of float) — higher bearish positioning can add downward pressure and increase volatility if sentiment sours. Source: market data summary
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: EVP John Gamble Jr. sold 4,500 shares for ~$880.7k at ~$195.72 — while insider sales aren’t uncommon, visible insider disposition can be interpreted by some investors as a modest negative signal. Insider Sale

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on EFX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Equifax from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Bank of America began coverage on Equifax in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.33.

Equifax Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of EFX stock opened at $207.70 on Friday. Equifax, Inc. has a 1-year low of $166.02 and a 1-year high of $281.03. The company has a market cap of $24.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.04, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.55. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.04.

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

Equifax Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 9th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio is 37.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John W. Gamble, Jr. sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.72, for a total value of $880,740.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,921 shares in the company, valued at $11,532,018.12. This trade represents a 7.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 1,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.87, for a total value of $233,248.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,968,617.03. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,671 shares of company stock worth $9,960,181. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.