Davis Selected Advisers Purchases 6,140 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers increased its stake in Equinix by 39.2% in Q3, buying 6,140 shares to hold 21,803 shares valued at about $17.08 million.
• Equinix's latest quarter missed analysts' estimates—EPS $8.91 vs. $9.07 expected and revenue $2.42B vs. $2.46B—though revenue was up 7% year-over-year; the stock trades near $974 with a market cap around $95.7B and a P/E of 70.8.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $5.16 (annualized $20.64) for roughly a 2.1% yield, but the payout ratio is elevated (~150%) and insiders have been net sellers recently.

Davis Selected Advisers raised its position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 39.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,140 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers' holdings in Equinix were worth $17,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EQIX. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Equinix by 209.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Equinix during the second quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Equinix in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of EQIX stock opened at $973.56 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $95.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.80, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.04. Equinix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $701.41 and a 52-week high of $992.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $883.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $817.88.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) 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). The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.Equinix's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.92 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is 150.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on EQIX shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,075.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,013.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Keith D. Taylor sold 2,051 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.17, for a total transaction of $1,649,352.67. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,373 shares in the company, valued at $21,208,375.41. The trade was a 7.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,333 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.25, for a total transaction of $1,072,065.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,551 shares in the company, valued at $7,681,391.75. This trade represents a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have 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.

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