Westpac Banking Corp Makes New $14.05 Million Investment in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 13,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,046,000. Equinix makes up approximately 0.9% of Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQIX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equinix by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,398,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,265,706,000 after acquiring an additional 107,227 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Equinix in the second quarter worth $11,930,074,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in Equinix by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,609,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,998,978,000 after purchasing an additional 493,141 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Equinix by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,567,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,959,731,000 after purchasing an additional 25,383 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Equinix by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,980,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,941,377,000 after purchasing an additional 27,643 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In other news, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.50, for a total value of $145,192.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,813.50. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,103.58, for a total transaction of $137,947.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,156,567.72. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,986 shares of company stock valued at $8,370,777. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Equinix from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Equinix from $894.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Equinix from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $1,250.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Equinix from $1,125.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,203.40.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EQIX opened at $1,065.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $105.12 billion, a PE ratio of 68.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.99. Equinix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $720.62 and a fifty-two week high of $1,128.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1,052.66 and a 200-day moving average of $1,022.48.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $11.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.73 by $7.05. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 15.64%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.91 EPS. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.690-43.290 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 38.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $5.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.90%.

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.