LPL Financial LLC Buys 2,226 Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has increased its holdings in Equinix, Inc. by 6.6%, now owning 35,780 shares valued at approximately $29.17 million.
• Equinix reported quarterly earnings of $9.91 per share, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.49, along with a revenue of $2.26 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $4.69 per share, with a payout ratio of 183.74%, indicating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Equinix were worth $29,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EQIX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Equinix by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new position in Equinix in the fourth quarter worth about $2,027,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Equinix by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 58,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,146,000 after buying an additional 2,099 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Equinix in the fourth quarter worth about $862,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Equinix in the fourth quarter worth about $50,917,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on EQIX. Citigroup lifted their target price on Equinix from $970.00 to $990.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Equinix from $1,035.00 to $950.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Cfra Research downgraded Equinix from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. New Street Research raised Equinix to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Equinix to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $957.27.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of Equinix stock traded down $3.86 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $775.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 149,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 639,714. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. Equinix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $701.41 and a 12-month high of $994.03. The company has a market capitalization of $75.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $827.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $851.47.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $6.42. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 7.22% and a net margin of 11.11%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 183.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In related news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,949 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,508,409.65. This trade represents a 23.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $869.41, for a total transaction of $86,941.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Company Profile

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.