Equinix, Inc. $EQIX Shares Sold by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 40.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,280 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Equinix were worth $30,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Equinix by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 1.0% in the third quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 1,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 2.7% during the third quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Equinix by 40.6% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted its position in Equinix by 70.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan Lin sold 888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total transaction of $711,980.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,528,714.20. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total value of $477,860.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,561,687.10. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,353 shares of company stock valued at $11,283,043. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC set a $1,050.00 target price on Equinix and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equinix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Equinix currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,001.41.

Equinix Stock Down 1.3%

Equinix stock opened at $948.02 on Friday. Equinix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $701.41 and a fifty-two week high of $992.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $827.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $799.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.92 EPS. Analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a $5.16 dividend. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Equinix’s payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

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.