Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) is Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s Largest Position

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,238 shares during the quarter. Equinix makes up about 6.5% of Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Equinix worth $69,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EQIX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Equinix by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,664,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,941,418,000 after purchasing an additional 88,654 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,412,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,269,037,000 after acquiring an additional 62,005 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Equinix by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,264,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,135,606,000 after acquiring an additional 81,144 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Equinix by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,938,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,827,847,000 after acquiring an additional 44,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Equinix by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,804,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,701,188,000 after purchasing an additional 401,991 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.51, for a total value of $643,308.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,878,652.27. The trade was a 7.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 125 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $912.21, for a total value of $114,026.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,669 shares in the company, valued at $16,117,838.49. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,040 shares of company stock valued at $6,547,068 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Equinix from $1,028.00 to $990.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Equinix from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $978.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,020.00 to $970.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $1,200.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Equinix from $1,094.00 to $1,053.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,004.94.

Equinix Price Performance

EQIX traded up $20.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $838.10. 605,304 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 550,655. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $837.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $895.26. Equinix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $684.14 and a 52-week high of $994.03. The company has a market capitalization of $81.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.02, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $4.69 per share. This is a boost from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. This represents a $18.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Equinix's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 219.42%.

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.