Legal & General Group Plc Sells 32,886 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in Equinix by 2.9% in Q3, selling 32,886 shares and retaining 1,118,573 shares (about 1.14% ownership) worth roughly $876.11 million.
• Equinix missed quarterly expectations with EPS of $8.91 versus $9.07 estimated and revenue of $2.42 billion versus $2.46 billion, though revenue was up 7% year‑over‑year; analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a $1,006.91 price target.
• Equinix raised its quarterly dividend to $5.16 (annualized $20.64, ~2.2% yield) with an ex‑dividend date of Feb 25, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 150.11%.

Legal & General Group Plc cut its holdings in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,118,573 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 32,886 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 1.14% of Equinix worth $876,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 433.3% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Equinix during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in Equinix by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Equinix in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of Equinix stock opened at $944.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.84 billion, a PE ratio of 68.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Equinix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $701.41 and a 12 month high of $992.90. The business's 50-day moving average price is $855.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $808.90.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.07 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $5.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EQIX shares. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,075.00 target price on Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,006.91.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In other Equinix news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,670 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.08, for a total value of $2,146,893.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,946,216.56. The trade was a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,333 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.25, for a total value of $1,072,065.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $7,681,391.75. This trade represents a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 13,602 shares of company stock worth $11,369,645 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix 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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