Equinix, Inc. $EQIX is Vision Capital Corp's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Vision Capital Corp boosted its stake in Equinix by 36.3% in Q3 to 45,075 shares (worth $35.305M), making EQIX roughly 10.3% of its portfolio and its second-largest holding.
• Equinix slightly missed quarterly expectations with EPS of $8.91 vs. $9.07 expected and revenue of $2.42B vs. $2.46B, though revenue was up 7% year-over-year.
• Equinix raised its quarterly dividend to $5.16 (annualized $20.64, yield ~2.1%), but the payout ratio is a high 150.11% and insiders have recently sold shares.

Vision Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Equinix makes up approximately 10.3% of Vision Capital Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Vision Capital Corp's holdings in Equinix were worth $35,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Equinix by 4.2% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Equinix by 1.0% in the third quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 1,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 2.7% during the third quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 40.6% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Equinix by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Price Performance

NASDAQ EQIX traded down $4.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $967.01. 89,819 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 650,654. Equinix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $701.41 and a 52-week high of $992.90. The company has a market capitalization of $95.01 billion, a PE ratio of 70.54, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.04. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $867.66 and its 200-day moving average is $812.35.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last released 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%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Equinix news, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 2,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 12,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,155,099.10. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 927 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total value of $743,250.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,882,659.86. The trade was a 11.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 13,602 shares of company stock valued at $11,369,645 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQIX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Equinix from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Equinix from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,006.91.

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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