Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 98,503 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 3,473.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,339 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,503 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.08% of Equifax worth $21,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equifax by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Equifax during the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Equifax by 14.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Equifax by 12.8% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,103 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $3,917,000 after acquiring an additional 1,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax during the 2nd quarter worth $269,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 230,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,536,856.34. This trade represents a 14.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jamil Farshchi sold 6,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.81, for a total transaction of $1,216,567.53. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,035,259.16. This represents a 13.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 49,671 shares of company stock valued at $9,960,181 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equifax Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:EFX opened at $174.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.55. Equifax, Inc. has a 12 month low of $166.02 and a 12 month high of $281.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.39. 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 earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Equifax had a net margin of 10.87% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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, research analysts forecast that Equifax, Inc. will post 7.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This is a positive change from Equifax’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on EFX. Bank of America began coverage on Equifax in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $250.00 price target on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Equifax from $235.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Argus raised shares of Equifax to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.57.

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.