Equinix, Inc. $EQIX Stock: First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Boosts Holdings

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its Equinix stake by 435% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 1,530 shares valued at approximately $1.55 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.94% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with Equinix receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $1,206.55, above its reported opening price of $996.26.
• Equinix reported quarterly revenue of $2.62 billion, up 16.4% year over year, and exceeded EPS expectations; it also pays an annualized dividend of $20.64, yielding about 2.1%. Insiders sold 4,770 shares worth roughly $4.88 million during the last quarter.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 435.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Equinix were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of Equinix by 27.3% in the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in Equinix by 3.1% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth raised its position in Equinix by 73.3% during the first quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 26 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Equinix by 5.3% during the second quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Equinix by 3.7% during the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on EQIX shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Equinix in a research note on Monday, September 21st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $1,261.00 price target for the company. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,270.00 price objective (up from $1,240.00) on shares of Equinix in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,340.00 target price (up from $1,300.00) on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,143.00 to $1,166.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Equinix has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,206.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In other news, insider Michael Paladin sold 307 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,035.01, for a total transaction of $317,748.07. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,535,774.50. This trade represents a 11.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 135 shares of Equinix 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. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 4,770 shares of company stock valued at $4,884,197 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $996.26 on Friday. Equinix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $720.62 and a 1-year high of $1,128.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $98.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.15, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,039.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,049.94.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The financial services provider reported $11.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.73 by $7.05. Equinix had a net margin of 15.64% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.91 earnings per share. Equinix's quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.690-43.290 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 38.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th were issued a $5.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Equinix's payout ratio is currently 132.90%.

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc is a global digital infrastructure company that operates data centers and provides colocation, interconnection and related services. Its International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers allow businesses, cloud providers, network operators, financial institutions and government organizations to deploy and connect critical information technology infrastructure.

The company's services include space, power and physical security for customer equipment, as well as private connections to cloud and network providers.

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