Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 1,133,223 Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Legal & General Group acquired 1,133,223 Equinix shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $1.18 billion and representing a 1.15% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 94.94% of the company.
• Equinix reported quarterly revenue of $2.62 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and earnings of $11.78 per share, surpassing analyst expectations. Shares recently opened at $1,055.20, near the middle of their 52-week range.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $5.16, or $20.64 annualized, yielding about 2.0%. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $1,203.40.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,133,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,181,260,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 1.15% of Equinix at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Equinix in the second quarter valued at about $11,930,074,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equinix by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,609,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,998,978,000 after acquiring an additional 493,141 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Equinix by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,567,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,959,731,000 after buying an additional 25,383 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Equinix by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,980,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,941,377,000 after acquiring an additional 27,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,500,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,149,628,000 after purchasing an additional 9,614 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of EQIX stock opened at $1,055.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. Equinix, Inc. has a one year low of $720.62 and a one year high of $1,128.68. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $1,052.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1,025.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.95, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.99.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $11.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.73 by $7.05. Equinix had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.64%.The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.91 earnings per share. Equinix's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.690-43.290 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 38.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a $5.16 dividend. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 19th. Equinix's payout ratio is currently 132.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on EQIX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Equinix from $1,186.00 to $1,211.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Equinix from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. HSBC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,400.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a report on Friday, August 14th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Equinix in a research report on Friday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $1,210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,270.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,203.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equinix news, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 135 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.50, for a total transaction of $145,192.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,077 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,813.50. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 3,726 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,076.36, for a total transaction of $4,010,517.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,132 shares in the company, valued at $6,600,239.52. This trade represents a 37.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,986 shares of company stock valued at $8,370,777 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equinix Company Profile

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.

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