Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Equinix, Inc. $EQIX

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX) by 61.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,140 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Equinix were worth $1,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Equinix by 433.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 32 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Equinix during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its holdings in Equinix by 209.1% in the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 34 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Equinix in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Equinix by 40.6% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 45 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.94% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Equinix

In other Equinix news, EVP Raouf Abdel sold 927 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $801.78, for a total value of $743,250.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,882,659.86. This represents a 11.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $804.08, for a total transaction of $2,146,893.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,946,216.56. This trade represents a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,602 shares of company stock valued at $11,369,645. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Equinix from $785.00 to $894.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $1,010.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Equinix in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Equinix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,006.91.

Equinix Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Equinix stock opened at $956.07 on Wednesday. Equinix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $701.41 and a 1-year high of $992.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $859.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $810.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.94 billion, a PE ratio of 69.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Equinix Increases Dividend

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

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.