Prudential PLC Raises Holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has increased its holdings in Equinix, Inc. by 53.7%, owning 28,104 shares valued at approximately $22.9 million.
• Equinix's stock has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from analysts, with a target price averaging around $959.86.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $4.69, which provides an annualized yield of 2.4%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 183.74%.

Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 53.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,823 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Equinix were worth $22,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services grew its position in shares of Equinix by 65.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 38 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Equinix by 127.8% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 41 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Equinix by 40.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidemark LLC grew its position in shares of Equinix by 57.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 44 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EQIX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Equinix from $935.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Equinix from $837.00 to $798.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Equinix from $1,030.00 to $965.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Equinix from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $1,045.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinix has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $962.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equinix news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $884.91, for a total value of $2,609,599.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,508,409.65. This trade represents a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

EQIX stock traded up $5.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $781.31. 544,847 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 629,270. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $811.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $844.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $76.46 billion, a PE ratio of 76.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.90. Equinix, Inc. has a 1 year low of $701.41 and a 1 year high of $994.03.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $6.42. Equinix had a return on equity of 7.22% and a net margin of 11.11%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.22 earnings per share. Equinix's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $4.69 dividend. This represents a $18.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Equinix's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 183.74%.

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.