National Pension Service Buys 22,484 Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service has increased its stake in Equinix, Inc. by 9.2% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 22,484 shares, bringing its total holdings to 265,633 shares worth approximately $216.58 million.
• Equinix reported strong quarterly earnings with $9.91 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and marking a 4.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $4.69 per share with an annualized yield of 2.4%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 183.74%.

National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 22,484 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.27% of Equinix worth $216,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQIX. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Equinix by 82,340.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 890,362 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $725,957,000 after purchasing an additional 889,282 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Equinix during the first quarter worth about $662,663,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Equinix by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,399,042,000 after acquiring an additional 586,034 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Equinix by 22.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,590,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,296,871,000 after acquiring an additional 291,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Equinix by 169.7% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 394,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $321,427,000 after acquiring an additional 248,075 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,949 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on EQIX. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. TD Securities boosted their target price on Equinix from $978.00 to $1,018.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Equinix from $904.00 to $961.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Cfra Research downgraded Equinix from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Equinix from $970.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $962.24.

Equinix Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of EQIX traded up $5.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $781.31. The stock had a trading volume of 545,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 507,262. Equinix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $701.41 and a 12 month high of $994.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $808.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $844.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $76.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.90.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.26 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 7.22% and a net margin of 11.11%. Equinix's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors 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 yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Equinix's dividend payout ratio 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.