Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $5.09 Million Stock Holdings in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,903 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Equinix were worth $5,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equinix by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 2.7% in the third quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Equinix by 40.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Equinix by 5.6% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In related news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,670 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.08, for a total value 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 $11,946,216.56. This trade represents a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 2,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $965.15, for a total value of $2,621,347.40. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 12,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,155,099.10. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 16,842 shares of company stock valued at $14,494,840 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on EQIX. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equinix from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Equinix from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, HSBC set a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Equinix and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,006.91.

Equinix Price Performance

EQIX opened at $984.46 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $876.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $815.44. Equinix, Inc. has a one year low of $701.41 and a one year high of $992.90.

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

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $5.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is presently 150.11%.

Equinix 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.