Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) Shares Acquired by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 422,627 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 62,955 shares during the period. Equinix makes up approximately 0.5% of Prudential Financial Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.44% of Equinix worth $398,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EQIX. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Equinix during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equinix by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 48 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Equinix during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of Equinix stock traded down $6.76 on Thursday, hitting $824.29. 319,362 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 619,661. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $900.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $909.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.74. Equinix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $684.14 and a 1-year high of $994.03.

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Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $7.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $5.17. Equinix had a return on equity of 6.31% and a net margin of 9.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $4.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Equinix's payout ratio is 219.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Equinix from $936.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Barclays increased their price target on Equinix from $822.00 to $834.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Equinix from $1,075.00 to $1,065.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson upgraded Equinix from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $989.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In other news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 684 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.51, for a total value of $643,308.84. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,878,652.27. This represents a 7.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 1,370 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $909.51, for a total value of $1,246,028.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 4,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,937,268.79. The trade was a 24.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,054 shares of company stock worth $17,466,950 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.