Employees Retirement System of Texas Increases Stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 55.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,570 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.08% of Equinix worth $72,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in EQIX. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinix by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 576 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 360 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its position in Equinix by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 975 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Equinix by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 756 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its position in Equinix by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 2,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,329,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of EQIX stock traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $889.08. The stock had a trading volume of 973,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 526,721. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.97 billion, a PE ratio of 103.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $830.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $890.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Equinix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $701.41 and a 52-week high of $994.03.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.01 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 6.31%. Equinix's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.86 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $4.69 per share. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is 195.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Equinix from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $978.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Equinix from $834.00 to $837.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Equinix in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,075.00 to $1,065.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Equinix from $978.00 to $1,018.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $1,004.80.

Insider Activity

In other Equinix news, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 127 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $877.70, for a total transaction of $111,467.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,616,723.40. The trade was a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $869.41, for a total value of $86,941.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,569 shares in the company, valued at $15,274,664.29. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

About Equinix

Equinix Nasdaq: EQIX is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.