Cohen & Steers Inc. Has $2 Billion Stock Position in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its Equinix stake by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with about 2.61 million shares valued at roughly $2.0 billion. Equinix now represents about 3.6% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 7th-largest holding.
• Wall Street remains broadly upbeat on Equinix, with analysts assigning a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,143.60. Recent rating changes included upgrades from Raymond James and new coverage from Sanford C. Bernstein.
• Equinix reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates by a wide margin, but insiders have recently sold shares. The company also declared a $5.16 quarterly dividend, though its payout ratio is high at 142.84%.

Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,609,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 493,141 shares during the period. Equinix makes up about 3.6% of Cohen & Steers Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned approximately 2.66% of Equinix worth $1,998,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equinix by 433.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Equinix by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Equinix by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 44 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Equinix by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 49 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC raised its holdings in Equinix by 111.5% in the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 55 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQIX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised Equinix from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $1,250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Equinix from $894.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Equinix in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,128.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut Equinix from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Equinix from $1,020.00 to $1,109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,143.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 3,726 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,076.36, for a total value of $4,010,517.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,600,239.52. This trade represents a 37.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 5,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,085.23, for a total value of $5,669,241.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,998,145.10. The trade was a 41.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,539 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,054. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of EQIX opened at $1,055.85 on Friday. Equinix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $710.52 and a 12-month high of $1,128.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,066.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $923.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $104.13 billion, a PE ratio of 73.07, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.99.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.30 by $6.49. Equinix had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 15.07%.The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $9.67 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.310-43.110 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 37.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a $5.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is 142.84%.

Equinix 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.

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