Candriam S.C.A. Sells 13,977 Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Candriam S.C.A. cut its position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,977 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Equinix were worth $29,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQIX. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Equinix during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Equinix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equinix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Equinix by 108.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Equinix in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Equinix 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 transaction of $643,308.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 8,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,878,652.27. The trade was a 7.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 1,331 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,579 shares in the company, valued at $5,945,508.09. This represents a 16.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,054 shares of company stock worth $17,466,950 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of EQIX stock opened at $921.02 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.72, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $926.24 and its 200-day moving average is $906.92. Equinix, Inc. has a 1 year low of $684.14 and a 1 year high of $994.03.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $7.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $5.17. Equinix had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 6.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $4.69 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 219.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EQIX shares. Citizens Jmp upgraded Equinix to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Equinix from $1,075.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Moffett Nathanson raised Equinix from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank raised 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Equinix from $935.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $995.24.

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.