Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 49,881 Shares of Equifax, Inc. $EFX

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Equifax, Inc. (NYSE:EFX) by 1,350.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,574 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,881 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Equifax were worth $11,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Equifax by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 458 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 148 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Equifax by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 401 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Equifax by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Begor sold 37,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 271,730 shares in the company, valued at $46,846,252. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.89, for a total value of $426,899.95. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,132,885.02. This trade represents a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 44,746 shares of company stock worth $7,822,808 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equifax from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Equifax from $210.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 target price on Equifax in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Equifax from $192.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Equifax from $256.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.67.

Equifax Price Performance

EFX opened at $162.96 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $177.24 and a 200 day moving average of $197.65. Equifax, Inc. has a 52-week low of $156.47 and a 52-week high of $275.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.35.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.17. Equifax had a return on equity of 20.41% and a net margin of 11.12%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equifax, Inc. will post 8.57 EPS for the current year.

Equifax Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. Equifax’s dividend 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.