Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 55.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 912 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,157 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Equinix were worth $860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Equinix by 50.0% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 50.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 39 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinix by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 48 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Equinix in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on EQIX shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Moffett Nathanson upgraded shares of Equinix from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Equinix from $945.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Equinix to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Equinix from $810.00 to $822.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $994.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In other news, CFO Keith D. Taylor sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $971.18, for a total transaction of $1,456,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,419,399.88. This trade represents a 7.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 222 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $962.20, for a total value of $213,608.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,633. This represents a 17.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,057 shares of company stock worth $21,345,223 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Price Performance

EQIX stock traded up $1.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $940.59. The company had a trading volume of 275,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 500,881. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $932.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $899.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market capitalization of $91.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.72. Equinix, Inc. has a 1 year low of $684.14 and a 1 year high of $994.03.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $7.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.75 by $5.17. Equinix had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 9.32%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $4.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $18.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. This is a positive change from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is currently 199.30%.

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.