Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,238 Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 73,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,238 shares during the quarter. Equinix comprises approximately 6.5% of Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Equinix were worth $69,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Equinix in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc lifted its stake in Equinix by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 60 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Price Performance

Equinix stock opened at $773.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $844.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $896.95. The firm has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a PE ratio of 90.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Equinix, Inc. has a one year low of $684.14 and a one year high of $994.03.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $7.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is 219.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 215 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $929.73, for a total value of $199,891.95. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,157,513.85. This trade represents a 14.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.51, for a total transaction of $643,308.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,878,652.27. This trade represents a 7.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,040 shares of company stock worth $6,547,068. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho lowered their price target on Equinix from $1,094.00 to $1,053.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price target 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 raised shares of Equinix from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $978.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,085.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,005.50.

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.