Equinix, Inc. $EQIX Stock Position Raised by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 17,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,576 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Equinix were worth $17,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQIX. Moore Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Equinix by 235.7% during the second quarter. Moore Capital Management LP now owns 7,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,000,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Equinix in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,181,260,000. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in Equinix in the 2nd quarter worth $203,930,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Equinix in the 2nd quarter worth $5,778,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in Equinix by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 12,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In related news, insider Michael Paladin sold 307 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,035.01, for a total value of $317,748.07. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,535,774.50. This trade represents a 11.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 135 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 4,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,813.50. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 770 shares of company stock worth $807,077 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on EQIX. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,340.00 price target (up from $1,300.00) on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. HSBC decreased their target price on Equinix from $1,400.00 to $1,380.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Mizuho set a $1,275.00 target price on Equinix in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $1,211.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Equinix in a research note on Monday, September 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,261.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,226.97.

Equinix Stock Up 3.9%

Equinix stock opened at $1,054.09 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,019.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,011.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a market cap of $104.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.98. Equinix, Inc. has a 52 week low of $720.62 and a 52 week high of $1,128.68.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.82. Equinix had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 39.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

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

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc is a global digital infrastructure company that operates data centers where businesses, cloud providers, telecommunications carriers and other organizations can securely house and connect their information technology systems. Its International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers provide colocation services, allowing customers to place equipment in highly connected facilities without building and operating their own sites.

The company also provides interconnection and networking services, including Equinix Fabric, which enables customers to establish virtual connections among data centers, cloud platforms, networks and business partners.