Westpac Banking Corp Has $13.01 Million Stock Holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,467 shares during the quarter. Equinix accounts for approximately 0.9% of Westpac Banking Corp's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Equinix were worth $13,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Equinix by 0.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,894,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,681,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,910 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Equinix by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 792 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $703,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Equinix by 157.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 7,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,310,000 after buying an additional 4,351 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Equinix by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 369,641 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $328,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,466 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 51.4% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 3,241 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Equinix Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of Equinix stock traded down $35.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $766.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 820,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,958. The company has a market capitalization of $74.58 billion, a PE ratio of 89.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.74. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $883.46 and a 200 day moving average of $906.22. Equinix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $684.14 and a 12 month high of $994.03.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $7.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $4.69 per share. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is 219.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In related news, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 1,331 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $903.71, for a total transaction of $1,202,838.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,945,508.09. This trade represents a 16.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 1,370 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $909.51, for a total value of $1,246,028.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 4,329 shares in the company, valued at $3,937,268.79. The trade was a 24.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,054 shares of company stock valued at $17,466,950 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on Equinix from $1,094.00 to $1,053.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Equinix from $822.00 to $834.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research raised Equinix from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $978.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Equinix from $1,033.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Equinix currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $1,007.59.

Equinix Company Profile

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.