Aberdeen Group plc Has $191.07 Million Stake in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 249,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 884 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.25% of Equinix worth $191,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Equinix by 209.1% during the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Equinix by 40.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Equinix by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 53 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on EQIX. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,128.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $915.00 price objective on Equinix in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Equinix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,016.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In other Equinix news, CFO Keith D. Taylor sold 2,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.17, for a total transaction of $1,649,352.67. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,373 shares in the company, valued at $21,208,375.41. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $965.15, for a total transaction of $2,621,347.40. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 12,594 shares in the company, 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 sold 16,842 shares of company stock valued at $14,494,840 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $1,000.37 on Friday. Equinix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $701.41 and a 12-month high of $1,006.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $922.83 and a 200-day moving average of $832.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a PE ratio of 72.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $5.16 dividend. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

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.