IFM Investors Pty Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its Equinix stake by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 2,640 shares to bring its total holdings to 38,198 shares worth about $29.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains extremely high, with hedge funds and other institutions controlling 94.94% of Equinix shares. Several big investors, including Norges Bank, UBS AM, and JPMorgan, also boosted their positions.
• Equinix beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $10.79 EPS versus the $4.30 estimate, while revenue rose 9.8% year over year to $2.44 billion. The company also declared a $5.16 quarterly dividend, equal to an annualized yield of about 2.0%.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,640 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Equinix were worth $29,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of EQIX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Equinix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $984,355,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Equinix by 408.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,186,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $929,312,000 after acquiring an additional 953,001 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Equinix by 377,167.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 716,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $549,190,000 after acquiring an additional 716,618 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Equinix by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,875,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,252,094,000 after acquiring an additional 588,967 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Equinix by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,094,808 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $838,798,000 after acquiring an additional 252,964 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Equinix from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Equinix from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $1,173.00 to $1,186.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,200.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinix currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,143.60.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In related news, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 2,040 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,083.47, for a total transaction of $2,210,278.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,206,116.16. This represents a 26.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 5,224 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $7,998,145.10. The trade was a 41.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 11,539 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,054 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

EQIX opened at $1,043.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.19, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,065.03 and a 200 day moving average of $922.66. Equinix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $710.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,128.68.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.67 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.310-43.110 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 37.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be given a $5.16 dividend. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 20th. Equinix's payout ratio is currently 142.84%.

Equinix 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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