Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $993.88 and last traded at $990.4710, with a volume of 94752 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $980.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EQIX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. HSBC set a $1,050.00 price target on Equinix and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,128.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Equinix from $933.00 to $985.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,016.86.

Equinix Stock Up 0.4%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $922.83 and a 200-day moving average of $832.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $98.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.01.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $5.16 dividend. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 150.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Equinix

In related news, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 2,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $965.15, for a total transaction of $2,621,347.40. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 12,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,155,099.10. The trade was a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Keith D. Taylor sold 2,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $804.17, for a total transaction of $1,649,352.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,208,375.41. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 16,842 shares of company stock valued at $14,494,840 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinix

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EQIX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Equinix by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinix by 11.5% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Equinix by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Equinix during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $231,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Equinix by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% 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.