Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Buys 18,279 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 184.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,279 shares during the period. Equinix accounts for about 0.7% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Equinix were worth $22,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Equinix by 433.3% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Equinix by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Equinix by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.08, for a total transaction of $2,146,893.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,946,216.56. The trade was a 15.23% 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. Also, CFO Keith D. Taylor sold 2,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.17, for a total transaction of $1,649,352.67. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,208,375.41. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,842 shares of company stock valued at $14,494,840 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQIX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Equinix from $973.00 to $1,087.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Equinix from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,006.91.

Equinix Stock Performance

EQIX stock opened at $969.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Equinix, Inc. has a 1 year low of $701.41 and a 1 year high of $992.90. The company has a market cap of $95.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $871.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $814.04.

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

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $5.16 dividend. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.