National Bank of Canada FI Buys 81,020 Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 226.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 81,020 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.12% of Equinix worth $88,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Equinix during the fourth quarter worth $1,574,132,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Equinix during the 1st quarter worth approximately $294,526,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,888,191 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,428,606,000 after purchasing an additional 238,883 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equinix by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,503,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,319,917,000 after buying an additional 238,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Equinix in the 1st quarter worth about $187,089,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Meredith Williamson sold 576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $824.19, for a total transaction of $474,733.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Equinix news, EVP Jonathan Lin sold 93 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $820.99, for a total transaction of $76,352.07. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,862,689.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Meredith Williamson sold 576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $824.19, for a total value of $474,733.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,472 shares of company stock worth $6,154,812 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on EQIX. Barclays boosted their price objective on Equinix from $669.00 to $671.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Equinix in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $870.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Equinix from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Equinix from $950.00 to $922.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Equinix in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $873.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equinix has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $876.71.

Equinix Price Performance

NASDAQ:EQIX traded down $3.78 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $817.96. The stock had a trading volume of 457,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,600. Equinix, Inc. has a one year low of $677.80 and a one year high of $914.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $800.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $794.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.68.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.88 by ($4.72). Equinix had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 12.24%. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 31.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $4.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $17.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is 170.91%.

Equinix 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.