CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Invests $34.28 Million in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 43,770 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $34,282,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 4.2% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Equinix by 1.0% during the third quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 1,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Equinix by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Equinix in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,128.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Equinix from $925.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,075.00 price objective on Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,006.91.

Equinix Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EQIX opened at $976.88 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $95.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.04. Equinix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $701.41 and a 12 month high of $992.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $879.80 and a 200-day moving average of $816.78.

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). Equinix had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 9.60%. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $5.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. 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%. Equinix’s payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

Insider Activity at Equinix

In related news, insider Brandi Galvin Morandi sold 630 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $961.19, for a total transaction of $605,549.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,990,608.86. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles J. Meyers sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $961.19, for a total transaction of $293,162.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 12,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,105,226.86. This trade represents a 2.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 16,842 shares of company stock worth $14,494,840 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.