Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 84,005 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Equinix were worth $48,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Equinix by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equinix by 50.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 39 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Equinix during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Equinix by 100.0% in the third quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 40 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Equinix by 108.7% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 48 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In other news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $904.99, for a total transaction of $1,562,012.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,886,959.95. This trade represents a 20.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.00, for a total transaction of $89,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,854,454. This trade represents a 0.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,398 shares of company stock worth $7,906,218 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on EQIX shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Equinix from $873.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Equinix from $995.00 to $1,080.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Equinix from $985.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Equinix from $975.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinix has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $976.81.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of Equinix stock opened at $960.84 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $923.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $849.51. 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 $92.71 billion, a PE ratio of 86.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a $4.26 dividend. This represents a $17.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is presently 153.65%.

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.