Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 3,488 Shares of Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Shell Asset Management Co. lessened its holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,488 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Equinix were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EQIX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Equinix by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Equinix by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Equinix by 23.6% during the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of Equinix stock opened at $956.19 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $797.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $790.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.54, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.06. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $701.41 and a 52 week high of $992.90.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The financial services provider reported $8.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.07 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $5.16 per share. This represents a $20.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a boost from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 1,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.25, for a total value of $1,072,065.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,681,391.75. This represents a 12.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 927 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total value of $743,250.06. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,882,659.86. This represents a 11.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,353 shares of company stock valued at $11,283,043. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on EQIX. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a report on Friday. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday. Daiwa Securities Group set a $917.00 price objective on shares of Equinix and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $996.23.

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.