Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases 4,604 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Equinix by 1.9%, buying 4,604 shares to own 241,596 shares (about 0.25% of the company) valued at roughly $185.42 million.
• Equity analysts are largely positive, with MarketBeat showing a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average target price of $1,056.35, while some firms (e.g., Citigroup) have lifted targets up to $1,200.
• Equinix slightly missed the quarter—EPS $8.91 vs. $9.07 expected and revenue $2.42B vs. $2.46B expected—but raised its quarterly dividend to $5.16 (annualized $20.64, ~1.9% yield).

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 241,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,604 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.25% of Equinix worth $185,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Equinix by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its position in Equinix by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 1,295 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Equinix by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Equinix by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Equinix by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 355 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on EQIX shares. HSBC set a $1,050.00 price objective on shares of Equinix and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Equinix from $1,070.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Equinix from $1,020.00 to $1,109.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equinix from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,056.35.

Equinix Stock Down 0.9%

Equinix stock opened at $1,094.34 on Wednesday. Equinix, Inc. has a twelve month low of $710.52 and a twelve month high of $1,108.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $982.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $857.25. The company has a market capitalization of $107.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.07 by ($0.16). Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 37.72 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix's dividend payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In related news, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 584 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $965.69, for a total transaction of $563,962.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,501,479.92. This represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan Lin sold 635 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $965.71, for a total transaction of $613,225.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,788 shares in the company, valued at $10,418,079.48. The trade was a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,380 shares of company stock worth $6,179,022 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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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