Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $1.94 Billion Stock Holdings in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 1.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,980,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,643 shares during the period. Equinix comprises about 1.0% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Equinix were worth $1,941,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Equinix by 56.7% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its stake in shares of Equinix by 73.0% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 2,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after buying an additional 849 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the first quarter valued at $216,000. Avion Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Equinix by 73.3% during the first quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 26 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Equinix by 4,811.6% during the first quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 13,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,288,000 after acquiring an additional 13,280 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on EQIX shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,200.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equinix from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on Equinix from $1,240.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,235.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,240.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,155.64.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In other Equinix news, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 125 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,060.29, for a total transaction of $132,536.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,557 shares in the company, valued at $18,615,511.53. This trade represents a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 5,224 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,085.23, for a total value of $5,669,241.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 7,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,998,145.10. This trade represents a 41.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,115 shares of company stock worth $12,022,574. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $1,039.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $102.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,065.29 and its 200 day moving average is $971.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. Equinix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $720.62 and a fifty-two week high of $1,128.68.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.30 by $6.49. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 10.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.67 earnings per share. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.310-43.110 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 38.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $5.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is presently 142.84%.

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc is a global provider of digital infrastructure and interconnection services, specializing in carrier-neutral data centers and colocation. The company operates a platform that enables enterprises, cloud and network service providers, and content companies to colocate IT infrastructure, interconnect directly with partners and providers, and access cloud on-ramps and network services in a secure, low-latency environment.

Equinix’s offerings include traditional colocation space and power, cross-connects and meet-me rooms, and a suite of connectivity and on-demand services designed for hybrid multicloud architectures.