ING Groep NV Makes New $2.83 Million Investment in Equifax, Inc. $EFX

ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 13,018 shares of the credit services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,825,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EFX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in 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 last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Equifax in the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. grew its position in Equifax by 699.9% in 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 last quarter. 96.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EFX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equifax from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of Equifax to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Equifax in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $222.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $210.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Equifax from $245.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.67.

Insider Transactions at Equifax

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

Equifax Price Performance

Shares of Equifax stock opened at $168.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.05. Equifax, Inc. has a twelve month low of $156.47 and a twelve month high of $275.91. The firm has a market cap of $20.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.32.

Equifax (NYSE:EFX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The credit services provider reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.17. Equifax had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 20.41%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Equifax’s payout ratio is 39.44%.

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.