Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,106 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Equinix stake by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,106 shares and ending with 2,646 shares worth about $2.03 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on Equinix, with firms including BMO Capital Markets and Guggenheim raising price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $1,143.60.
• Equinix reported strong quarterly results, posting $10.79 EPS versus $4.30 expected and revenue up 9.8% year over year, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $5.16 per share.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 44.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,106 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Equinix were worth $2,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Income Insurance Ltd bought a new position in Equinix during the 4th quarter worth $221,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 2,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,297,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,924,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $883,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its stake in shares of Equinix by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 9,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on EQIX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Equinix from $985.00 to $1,235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lifted their price target on Equinix from $1,020.00 to $1,109.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Equinix from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Equinix from $894.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,143.60.

Insider Activity

In other Equinix news, insider Jonathan Lin sold 635 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $965.71, for a total transaction of $613,225.85. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,418,079.48. The trade was a 5.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 5,224 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman directly owned 7,370 shares in the company, valued at $7,998,145.10. The trade was a 41.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,604 shares of company stock worth $11,848,264. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Equinix Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ EQIX opened at $1,086.22 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Equinix, Inc. has a twelve month low of $710.52 and a twelve month high of $1,128.68. The company has a market cap of $107.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.01. The business's fifty day moving average is $1,018.11 and its 200 day moving average is $880.82.

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

Equinix Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th will be issued 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 yield of 1.9%. Equinix's payout ratio is presently 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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