Weitz Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Weitz Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 191,980 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,471,000. Equifax comprises approximately 2.1% of Weitz Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Equifax by 52.6% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 650,391 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $141,199,000 after purchasing an additional 224,073 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Equifax by 49.2% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its holdings in shares of Equifax by 1,253.8% during the fourth quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 24,978 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $5,420,000 after purchasing an additional 23,133 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Equifax during the first quarter valued at $1,098,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Equifax by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,056 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $7,389,000 after buying an additional 9,710 shares in the last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equifax news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.16, for a total transaction of $6,506,098.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 271,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,808,582.40. The trade was a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Equifax Stock Up 0.3%

Equifax stock opened at $192.98 on Friday. Equifax, Inc. has a one year low of $150.74 and a one year high of $271.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $172.16 and a 200 day moving average of $178.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $22.67 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.30.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The credit services provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.05. Equifax had a return on equity of 21.61% and a net margin of 10.73%.The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Equifax’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Equifax from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Equifax from $245.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Equifax from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Equifax from $195.00 to $179.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Equifax from $215.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.89.

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.