Neuberger Berman Group LLC Acquires 12,956 Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Key Points

• Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Equinix, Inc. by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 220,417 shares worth approximately $179.7 million.
• Equinix reported earnings of $9.91 EPS for the last quarter, significantly surpassing analyst estimates of $3.49 EPS, with revenue reaching $2.26 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $4.69 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.4%, with an ex-dividend date set for August 20th.

Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,956 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Equinix worth $179,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Equinix by 40.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Equinix by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Equinix by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 248 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Equinix by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. lifted its position in shares of Equinix by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 678 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EQIX shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Equinix from $970.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Cfra Research lowered shares of Equinix from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Equinix from $1,030.00 to $965.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $962.24.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In other news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

NASDAQ:EQIX traded up $5.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $781.31. 545,026 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 507,262. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $811.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $844.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54. Equinix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $701.41 and a fifty-two week high of $994.03.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.26 billion. Equinix had a return on equity of 7.22% and a net margin of 11.11%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.22 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $4.69 dividend. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 20th. Equinix's payout ratio is 183.74%.

Equinix 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.