Cim Investment Management Inc. Trims Stake in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Cim Investment Management Inc. cut its position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 50.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,702 shares during the quarter. Equinix makes up 0.8% of Cim Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Cim Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Equinix were worth $2,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equinix by 433.3% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in Equinix by 209.1% in the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in Equinix in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Equinix during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Equinix from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Equinix from $933.00 to $985.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,006.91.

Equinix Stock Performance

EQIX stock opened at $976.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.05, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.04. Equinix, Inc. has a 1 year low of $701.41 and a 1 year high of $992.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $879.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $816.78.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In related news, insider Jonathan Lin sold 635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $965.71, for a total value of $613,225.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,418,079.48. This represents a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $961.19, for a total transaction of $605,549.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,990,608.86. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,842 shares of company stock valued at $14,494,840. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.