Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stake in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 92,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Equinix were worth $70,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQIX. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Equinix by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Equinix by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Equinix in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Equinix by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 53 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EQIX. HSBC set a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Equinix and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Equinix from $975.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Equinix in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,128.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Equinix from $933.00 to $985.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,056.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 1,086 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $966.20, for a total value of $1,049,293.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 19,574 shares in the company, valued at $18,912,398.80. The trade was a 5.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $961.19, for a total value of $293,162.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 12,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,105,226.86. This represents a 2.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 6,380 shares of company stock worth $6,179,022 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

NASDAQ EQIX opened at $1,103.97 on Tuesday. Equinix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $710.52 and a 52-week high of $1,104.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $977.55 and a 200-day moving average of $855.02. The company has a market capitalization of $108.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.01. 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 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). Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 37.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $5.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix’s payout ratio is 150.11%.

Equinix Company Profile

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.