Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stake in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,628 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Equinix were worth $23,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Equinix by 1.9% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 577,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $452,335,000 after acquiring an additional 10,947 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Equinix by 42.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 142,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $111,481,000 after purchasing an additional 42,618 shares in the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Equinix by 84.1% during the third quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation raised its stake in Equinix by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 23,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,244,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Equinix by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 484,094 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,118,000 after purchasing an additional 12,481 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.08, for a total value of $2,146,893.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,946,216.56. This trade represents a 15.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Lin sold 888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total transaction of $711,980.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,390 shares in the company, valued at $7,528,714.20. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 13,602 shares of company stock valued at $11,369,645 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $973.43 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $863.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $811.24. Equinix, Inc. has a 52 week low of $701.41 and a 52 week high of $992.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.79, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.04.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.07 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix’s payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on EQIX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Equinix from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $973.00 to $1,087.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,006.91.

Equinix Profile

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.