Gagnon Securities LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Key Points

• Gagnon Securities LLC has increased its holdings in Equinix, Inc. by 5.8% during the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 13,590, which are valued at approximately $11,081,000.
• Research analysts are optimistic about Equinix's growth, with twenty analysts giving a buy rating and an average target price of $957.27, while Guggenheim set a target price of $933.00.
• Equinix recently declared a quarterly dividend of $4.69, with a yield of 2.4%, and a payout ratio of 183.74%.

Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 749 shares during the quarter. Equinix makes up approximately 2.4% of Gagnon Securities LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Gagnon Securities LLC's holdings in Equinix were worth $11,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Equinix by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,906,820 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,523,576,000 after acquiring an additional 242,121 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Equinix by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,902,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,793,429,000 after acquiring an additional 14,294 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Equinix by 65.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,483,781 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,399,042,000 after acquiring an additional 586,034 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Equinix by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,147,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,082,022,000 after acquiring an additional 65,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Equinix by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,098,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,035,953,000 after acquiring an additional 28,297 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on EQIX shares. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $933.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,050.00 to $1,010.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $1,200.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. New Street Research upgraded shares of Equinix to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,035.00 to $950.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $957.27.

Insider Activity

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

Equinix Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of EQIX opened at $773.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.90. Equinix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $701.41 and a 12-month high of $994.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $825.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $850.93.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $9.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.49 by $6.42. Equinix had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 7.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $9.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $4.69 dividend. This represents a $18.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th. Equinix's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.74%.

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.

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