Clearstead Trust LLC Raises Stock Position in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 6,500.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Equinix were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Equinix by 2.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co increased its position in shares of Equinix by 420,860.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 21,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,486,000 after purchasing an additional 21,043 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Equinix by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in Equinix by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 3,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,428,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its position in Equinix by 3.4% in the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 31,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,359,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $928.11 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $91.19 billion, a PE ratio of 67.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $811.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $795.03. Equinix, Inc. has a one year low of $701.41 and a one year high of $992.90. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.07 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Equinix from $973.00 to $1,087.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective on shares of Equinix in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Equinix from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equinix presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,001.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 927 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total value of $743,250.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,337 shares in the company, valued at $5,882,659.86. The trade was a 11.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 2,094 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.14, for a total transaction of $1,683,869.16. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 13,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,657,267.42. The trade was a 13.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,353 shares of company stock valued at $11,283,043. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.