Bessemer Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 19.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 471,025 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 115,852 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.40% of Equifax worth $84,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax in the first quarter valued at $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,632 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $1,979,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Equifax by 699.9% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 8,671 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $2,249,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $177.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $164.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.26. Equifax, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.74 and a 1 year high of $271.84.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Equifax’s payout ratio is presently 39.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price on shares of Equifax in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on Equifax from $226.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Equifax from $222.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equifax has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $223.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.40, for a total transaction of $6,515,168.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,846,252. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Chad M. Borton sold 2,455 shares of Equifax stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total value of $426,899.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,518 shares in the company, valued at $5,132,885.02. This trade represents a 7.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.70% 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.