ING Groep NV Sells 3,588 Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV reduced its holdings in Equinix, Inc. by 22.4%, selling 3,588 shares and leaving them with a total of 12,428 shares worth approximately $10.13 million.
• Equinix declared a quarterly dividend of $4.69 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 183.74%.
• Equinix's latest quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $9.91 earnings per share, significantly higher than the consensus estimate of $3.49.

ING Groep NV decreased its position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,588 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Equinix were worth $10,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in Equinix in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Equinix by 127.8% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 41 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Equinix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQIX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered Equinix from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $1,045.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Guggenheim started coverage on Equinix in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $933.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Equinix from $1,020.00 to $880.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equinix from $1,065.00 to $925.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Equinix presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $957.27.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX traded down $5.94 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $773.00. 316,302 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 571,950. Equinix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $701.41 and a 12 month high of $994.03. The firm has a market cap of $75.65 billion, a PE ratio of 75.71, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $827.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $851.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $4.69 dividend. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Equinix's payout ratio is presently 183.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,949 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $884.91, for a total value of $2,609,599.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,508,409.65. The trade was a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $869.41, for a total transaction of $86,941.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,274,664.29. This represents a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equinix Company Profile

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.