KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $31.37 Million in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 33,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $31,368,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 48 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equinix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In related news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 684 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $7,878,652.27. This trade represents a 7.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 5,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $909.81, for a total value of $5,265,980.28. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,859,135.73. This trade represents a 27.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,054 shares of company stock worth $17,466,950. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQIX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Equinix from $1,075.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Equinix from $936.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on Equinix from $822.00 to $834.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $1,200.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $990.06.

Equinix Stock Performance

NASDAQ EQIX opened at $834.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $81.23 billion, a PE ratio of 97.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.74. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $684.14 and a twelve month high of $994.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $903.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $908.81.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $7.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is currently 219.42%.

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.