Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 268,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,536 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.27% of Equinix worth $210,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Equinix by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Equinix by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Equinix by 21.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new stake in Equinix in the second quarter worth $231,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in Equinix by 1.6% during the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 4,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,387,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:EQIX opened at $948.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Equinix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $701.41 and a 12 month high of $992.90. The company has a market capitalization of $93.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.95, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $827.75 and its 200 day moving average is $799.61.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.07 by ($0.16). Equinix had a return on equity of 9.60% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This is an increase from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 150.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $870.00 price target on shares of Equinix in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $915.00 price objective on Equinix in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,075.00 target price on Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,001.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Keith D. Taylor sold 2,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.17, for a total value of $1,649,352.67. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,208,375.41. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,333 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.25, for a total transaction of $1,072,065.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,681,391.75. The trade was a 12.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 14,353 shares of company stock worth $11,283,043 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.