Capital Research Global Investors Buys 10,947 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors boosted its Equinix stake by 1.9%, buying 10,947 shares to own 577,518 shares (about 0.59%) valued at roughly $452.3 million.
• Equinix raised its quarterly dividend to $5.16 ($20.64 annual), a ~2.2% yield, with a payout ratio of 150.11% and an ex-dividend date of Feb. 25.
• Insiders sold 13,602 shares in the past 90 days (about $11.37 million), including transactions by Chairman Charles Meyers and CFO Keith Taylor, leaving corporate insiders with just 0.27% ownership.

Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 577,518 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,947 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.59% of Equinix worth $452,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC grew its stake in shares of Equinix by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 384 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Equinix by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 544,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $426,444,000 after acquiring an additional 7,409 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Equinix by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,875,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,252,094,000 after buying an additional 588,967 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Equinix by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 36,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,908,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Finally, Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 10.0% during the third quarter. Foresight Group Ltd Liability Partnership now owns 26,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,425,000 after buying an additional 2,378 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equinix news, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 2,716 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $965.15, for a total value of $2,621,347.40. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 12,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,155,099.10. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Keith D. Taylor sold 2,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.17, for a total transaction of $1,649,352.67. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,208,375.41. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,602 shares of company stock worth $11,369,645. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQIX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Equinix from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equinix presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,006.91.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EQIX opened at $956.07 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $859.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $810.10. The company has a market cap of $93.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04. Equinix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $701.41 and a 1-year high of $992.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.07 by ($0.16). Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Equinix's payout ratio is 150.11%.

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc is a global provider of digital infrastructure and interconnection services, specializing in carrier-neutral data centers and colocation. The company operates a platform that enables enterprises, cloud and network service providers, and content companies to colocate IT infrastructure, interconnect directly with partners and providers, and access cloud on-ramps and network services in a secure, low-latency environment.

Equinix's offerings include traditional colocation space and power, cross-connects and meet-me rooms, and a suite of connectivity and on-demand services designed for hybrid multicloud architectures.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.