Equinix, Inc. $EQIX Stock: Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Grows Stake

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 67.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,560 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Equinix were worth $8,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Equinix in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,930,074,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Equinix by 26,831.6% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,239,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,291,648,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234,521 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Equinix during the second quarter worth $1,181,260,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Equinix during the second quarter worth $1,163,662,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Equinix during the second quarter worth $1,118,930,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Equinix Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $1,053.79 on Friday. Equinix, Inc. has a 1 year low of $720.62 and a 1 year high of $1,128.68. The company has a market capitalization of $103.98 billion, a PE ratio of 63.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,019.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,019.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.82. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 16.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 39.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be issued a $5.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christopher Paisley sold 125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,103.58, for a total value of $137,947.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,156,567.72. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 198 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.18, for a total transaction of $200,807.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,934,004.22. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 968 shares of company stock valued at $1,007,885. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQIX has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,250.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,130.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,215.00 to $1,220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Equinix from $1,222.00 to $1,270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Friday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,234.13.

Equinix Profile

Equinix, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure company that operates data centers where businesses can house their computing and networking equipment. Its colocation services support organizations seeking secure, reliable facilities for their IT systems. The company also provides interconnection services that enable customers to connect with cloud providers, networks, business partners and one another. Its Equinix Fabric platform offers software-defined connectivity, while its xScale facilities are designed to serve large-scale cloud and technology companies.