Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its Equinix stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holding to 168,968 shares worth about $129.5 million. Equinix now represents roughly 2.3% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with Equinix carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and a target price of $1,143.60. Several firms recently raised price targets, though Zacks Research downgraded the stock to hold.
• Equinix reported strong quarterly earnings, posting $10.79 EPS versus the $4.30 estimate, even as revenue came in slightly below expectations. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $5.16 per share, payable June 17.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 168,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,342 shares during the quarter. Equinix makes up approximately 2.3% of Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Equinix worth $129,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EQIX. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 433.3% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 44 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 40.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 49 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EQIX shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Equinix from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,100.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,207.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $975.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Equinix currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,143.60.

Insider Activity

In other Equinix news, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 5,224 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,085.23, for a total transaction of $5,669,241.52. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,998,145.10. This trade represents a 41.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 1,086 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $966.20, for a total transaction of $1,049,293.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 19,574 shares in the company, valued at $18,912,398.80. This trade represents a 5.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,769 shares of company stock valued at $14,191,079. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of EQIX opened at $1,068.04 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $1,047.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $904.78. The company has a market capitalization of $105.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Equinix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $710.52 and a 1-year high of $1,128.68.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.30 by $6.49. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 10.03%. Equinix's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.67 earnings per share. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.310-43.110 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 37.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $5.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Equinix's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 142.84%.

About Equinix

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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