Arizona State Retirement System Has $21.13 Million Stock Position in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its stake in Equinix by 3.5% in Q4 to 27,575 shares, a position worth about $21.13 million.
• Equinix's latest quarter missed estimates, reporting EPS of $8.91 versus $9.07 expected and revenue of $2.42B versus $2.46B, although revenue rose roughly 7% year‑over‑year.
• Equinix raised its quarterly dividend to $5.16 (annualized $20.64, ~1.9% yield) while insiders, including the CEO, have sold shares recently; institutional investors own about 94.9% of the stock.

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,575 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 991 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Equinix were worth $21,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its position in Equinix by 433.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its position in Equinix by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC increased its position in Equinix by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 44 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased 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 buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Equinix during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of EQIX opened at $1,108.74 on Friday. Equinix, Inc. has a 1 year low of $710.52 and a 1 year high of $1,128.68. 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 company has a market capitalization of $109.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $993.19 and a 200-day moving average of $862.95.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $2.42 billion for 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%.Equinix's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 37.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $5.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 yield of 1.9%. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is presently 150.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equinix news, insider Jonathan Lin sold 635 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $965.71, for a total value of $613,225.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,418,079.48. The trade was a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 1,086 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $966.20, for a total value of $1,049,293.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 19,574 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,912,398.80. The trade was a 5.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,380 shares of company stock valued at $6,179,022 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EQIX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Equinix from $1,020.00 to $1,109.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $915.00 price objective on Equinix in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinix currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,056.35.

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.

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