Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) Shares Acquired by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in Equinix, Inc. by 7.8%, owning a total of 27,600 shares valued at approximately $22.50 million.
• Equinix reported an impressive $9.91 EPS for the last quarter, significantly exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.49, alongside a 4.5% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Analysts have widely rated Equinix as a buy, with an average target price of $959.86, following upgrades and rating changes from multiple financial institutions.

Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Equinix were worth $22,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in EQIX. NS Partners Ltd lifted its position in Equinix by 2.1% in the first quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 31,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,717,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Equinix by 169.7% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 394,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $321,427,000 after purchasing an additional 248,075 shares during the period. Gagnon Advisors LLC lifted its position in Equinix by 17.8% in the first quarter. Gagnon Advisors LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Equinix by 145.6% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 148,509 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $121,087,000 after purchasing an additional 88,033 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Equinix by 1.5% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 272,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $221,941,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Equinix Trading Down 0.4%

EQIX stock traded down $3.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $776.20. The stock had a trading volume of 252,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,724. The firm has a market cap of $75.96 billion, a PE ratio of 76.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.54. Equinix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $701.41 and a 12-month high of $994.03. The company's 50-day moving average price is $820.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $848.37.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $6.42. Equinix had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.22 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 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, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $4.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. This represents a $18.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Equinix's payout ratio is currently 183.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQIX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Equinix from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Equinix from $1,020.00 to $880.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Equinix from $1,069.00 to $900.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Equinix from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $1,045.00 to $850.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,035.00 to $950.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $959.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In other news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $884.91, for a total transaction of $2,609,599.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,508,409.65. The trade was a 23.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $869.41, for a total transaction of $86,941.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,274,664.29. This represents a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Equinix

Equinix Nasdaq: EQIX is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.