Fifth Third Bancorp Decreases Stake in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp cut its Equinix stake by 32.1% in the first quarter, selling 2,944 shares and ending the period with 6,237 shares valued at about $6.1 million.
• Equinix reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $10.79 EPS versus analysts’ $4.30 estimate, even as revenue of $2.44 billion came in slightly below expectations.
• The company also paid a $5.16 quarterly dividend and continues to draw mostly bullish analyst coverage, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $1,155.64.

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 32.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,944 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Equinix were worth $6,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Equinix by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,398,906 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,265,706,000 after purchasing an additional 107,227 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in Equinix by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,609,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,998,978,000 after buying an additional 493,141 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Equinix by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,567,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,959,731,000 after buying an additional 25,383 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Equinix by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,500,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,149,628,000 after buying an additional 9,614 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Equinix during the 4th quarter valued at $984,355,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $1,009.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $99.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $1,061.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $976.52. Equinix, Inc. has a twelve month low of $720.62 and a twelve month high of $1,128.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.30 by $6.49. Equinix had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 10.03%. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.67 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.310-43.110 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 38.25 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th were paid a $5.16 dividend. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 20th. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is presently 142.84%.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In other Equinix news, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 5,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,085.23, for a total value of $5,669,241.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 7,370 shares in the company, valued at $7,998,145.10. This trade represents a 41.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 125 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,060.29, for a total value of $132,536.25. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,615,511.53. The trade was a 0.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,115 shares of company stock valued at $12,022,574 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQIX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Equinix from $1,240.00 to $1,260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Truist Financial set a $1,215.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research began coverage on Equinix in a research note on Friday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $1,210.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised Equinix from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $1,250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Equinix from $1,173.00 to $1,186.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,155.64.

Equinix Company 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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