Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) Shares Sold by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 41.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,300 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Equinix were worth $8,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equinix during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,067,270,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Equinix by 65.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,399,042,000 after buying an additional 586,034 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Equinix by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,804,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,701,188,000 after acquiring an additional 401,991 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth about $328,899,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equinix news, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 100 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $869.41, for a total transaction of $86,941.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,274,664.29. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $877.70, for a total transaction of $111,467.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,842 shares in the company, valued at $1,616,723.40. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EQIX shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Equinix from $970.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Equinix to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $1,200.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, New Street Research upgraded Equinix to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and six have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,004.80.

Equinix Stock Performance

NASDAQ EQIX traded up $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $889.08. 973,117 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 525,128. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $831.05 and a 200 day moving average of $890.66. Equinix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $701.41 and a 12-month high of $994.03. The company has a market cap of $86.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.97.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.01 by $0.66. Equinix had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 6.31%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.86 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $4.69 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 21st. This represents a $18.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is presently 195.01%.

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.