8,400 Shares in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX Bought by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group initiated a position in Equinix during the third quarter, purchasing 8,400 shares valued at approximately $8.5 million.
• Equinix reported quarterly earnings of $4.93 per share, beating the $4.11 analyst consensus; revenue of $2.57 billion was up 11% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $1,226.97. Equinix also declared a quarterly dividend of $5.16 per share.

AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,497,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moore Capital Management LP increased its position in Equinix by 235.7% in the 2nd quarter. Moore Capital Management LP now owns 7,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,000,000 after buying an additional 5,389 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Equinix during the second quarter worth approximately $1,181,260,000. Bamco Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Equinix in the second quarter valued at approximately $203,930,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Equinix in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,778,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in shares of Equinix by 20.9% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 12,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EQIX opened at $1,014.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.98. Equinix, Inc. has a one year low of $720.62 and a one year high of $1,128.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,020.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,009.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.82. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The business's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 38.23 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $5.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 18th. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Equinix's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 123.96%.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In other news, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 135 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,075.50, for a total transaction of $145,192.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 4,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,813.50. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 125 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,103.58, for a total value of $137,947.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,156,567.72. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 770 shares of company stock valued at $807,077 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on EQIX shares. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,400.00 to $1,380.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,300.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,015.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Equinix from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Equinix from $1,250.00 to $1,265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,226.97.

Equinix Profile

Equinix, Inc is a global digital infrastructure company that operates data centers where businesses, cloud providers, telecommunications carriers and other organizations can securely house and connect their information technology systems. Its International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers provide colocation services, allowing customers to place equipment in highly connected facilities without building and operating their own sites.

The company also provides interconnection and networking services, including Equinix Fabric, which enables customers to establish virtual connections among data centers, cloud platforms, networks and business partners.

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