Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 8,165 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its stake in Equinix by 29.8%, selling 8,165 shares and leaving 19,221 shares worth about $14.73 million at the end of the quarter.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently, disposing of 6,380 shares valued at roughly $6.18 million in the last three months, including Chairman Charles J. Meyers (2,716 shares) and Brandi Galvin Morandi (630 shares).
• Equinix holds a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $1,056.35 price target, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $5.16 (annualized $20.64, ~1.9% yield).

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its holdings in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,165 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Equinix were worth $14,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 433.3% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinix during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 40.6% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 65.6% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 53 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EQIX. Zacks Research raised shares of Equinix from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,127.00 target price (up from $1,087.00) on shares of Equinix in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,070.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,056.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 2,716 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $965.15, for a total value of $2,621,347.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 12,594 shares in the company, valued at $12,155,099.10. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 630 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $961.19, for a total transaction of $605,549.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 10,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,990,608.86. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,380 shares of company stock valued at $6,179,022. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equinix Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $1,108.74 on Friday. Equinix, Inc. has a 52 week low of $710.52 and a 52 week high of $1,128.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $109.35 billion, a PE ratio of 80.64, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $993.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $862.95.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.07 by ($0.16). Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.92 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 37.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $5.16 dividend. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

About Equinix

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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