Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $692.71, but opened at $778.00. Equinix shares last traded at $775.25, with a volume of 477,868 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a $4.26 dividend. This represents a $17.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is currently 165.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Equinix from $767.00 to $762.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC lowered shares of Equinix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $900.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Equinix from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Equinix from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Equinix from $818.00 to $669.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $870.44.

Equinix Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $73.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $800.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $802.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Scott Crenshaw sold 460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $832.97, for a total transaction of $383,166.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,548.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Scott Crenshaw sold 460 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $832.97, for a total transaction of $383,166.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,548.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Camp Peter Van sold 122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $831.12, for a total transaction of $101,396.64. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 7,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,622,364.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,585 shares of company stock valued at $3,818,268 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Equinix

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,364,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.