KBC Group NV Has $70.23 Million Stock Holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

KBC Group NV lessened its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 86,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,127 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.09% of Equinix worth $70,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equinix in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Equinix by 127.8% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 41 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services increased its position in Equinix by 65.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Equinix during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Equinix during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Price Performance

NASDAQ:EQIX traded up $39.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $785.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,193,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,309. Equinix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $701.41 and a fifty-two week high of $994.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $76.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $867.26 and a 200-day moving average of $880.55.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.01 by $0.66. Equinix had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 6.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.86 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a $4.69 dividend. This represents a $18.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 21st. Equinix's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 195.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. New Street Research upgraded shares of Equinix to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,065.00 to $925.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Equinix from $970.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $1,200.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Equinix from $834.00 to $837.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $977.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 127 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $877.70, for a total value of $111,467.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,616,723.40. This trade represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $884.91, for a total transaction of $2,609,599.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,508,409.65. This represents a 23.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,176 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,008 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix 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.