Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 5,321 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Sterling Capital Management boosted its Equinix stake by 134.3% in the first quarter, buying 5,321 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 9,282 shares worth about $9.1 million.
• Institutional ownership of Equinix remains very high at 94.94%, while several other funds also increased or initiated positions during recent quarters.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $1,151.67, even as insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 134.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,321 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Equinix were worth $9,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Equinix by 433.3% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equinix during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Equinix by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 42 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC grew its stake in Equinix by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 44 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Equinix by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 49 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Equinix from $1,050.00 to $1,120.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,235.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Equinix from $1,100.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Equinix from $975.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Equinix from $894.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinix presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,151.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christopher B. Paisley sold 125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,060.29, for a total transaction of $132,536.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,615,511.53. The trade was a 0.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 3,726 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,076.36, for a total value of $4,010,517.36. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,132 shares in the company, valued at $6,600,239.52. The trade was a 37.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,539 shares of company stock worth $12,455,054 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Stock Performance

Equinix stock opened at $1,091.30 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $1,079.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $948.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $107.62 billion, a PE ratio of 75.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.99. Equinix, Inc. has a twelve month low of $720.62 and a twelve month high of $1,128.68.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $10.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.30 by $6.49. Equinix had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 10.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equinix has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.310-43.110 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 38.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 20th were issued a $5.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Equinix's payout ratio is 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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