Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 2,628 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,628 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Equinix were worth $23,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In related news, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $965.15, for a total transaction of $2,621,347.40. Following the sale, the chairman owned 12,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,155,099.10. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.25, for a total value of $1,072,065.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $7,681,391.75. This trade represents a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,602 shares of company stock worth $11,369,645. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQIX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,075.00 target price on Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. HSBC set a $1,050.00 target price on Equinix and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equinix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,006.91.

Equinix Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $973.43 on Thursday. The company 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $863.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $811.24. Equinix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $701.41 and a 12 month high of $992.90.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 business’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

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