Boston Research & Management Inc. Takes Position in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Boston Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,664,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in EQIX. Norges Bank bought a new position in Equinix in the 2nd quarter worth $892,431,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Equinix by 25.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,875,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,252,094,000 after buying an additional 588,967 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Equinix by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,129,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,443,758,000 after buying an additional 222,221 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Equinix by 3.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,249,780 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,971,512,000 after buying an additional 220,981 shares during the period. Finally, ABN AMRO Bank N.V. bought a new stake in Equinix during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $172,581,000. 94.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 596 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $477,860.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,561,687.10. This trade represents a 15.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan Lin sold 888 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 $711,980.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,390 shares in the company, valued at $7,528,714.20. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,353 shares of company stock valued at $11,283,043. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Equinix Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ EQIX opened at $974.26 on Friday. Equinix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $701.41 and a 12 month high of $992.90. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $832.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $800.99. The stock has a market cap of $95.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.06.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) last announced 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). 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.92 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Equinix, Inc. will post 33.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Equinix Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $5.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from Equinix’s previous quarterly dividend of $4.69. This represents a $20.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Equinix’s dividend payout ratio is currently 150.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQIX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price on shares of Equinix in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Equinix from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinix in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Equinix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Equinix in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Equinix currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,001.41.

Equinix Company 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.