Van ECK Associates Corp Has $21.14 Million Stake in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Equinix were worth $21,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 39 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 50.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 39 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Equinix by 108.7% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 48 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equinix during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Equinix in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. 94.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on EQIX shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Equinix from $995.00 to $1,080.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Equinix from $810.00 to $822.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Equinix from $1,085.00 to $1,065.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Equinix from $936.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Equinix from $950.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $994.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Equinix news, CEO Adaire Fox-Martin sold 2,965 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $961.62, for a total value of $2,851,203.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,951,211.78. This represents a 49.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kurt Pletcher sold 222 shares of Equinix stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $962.20, for a total transaction of $213,608.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $976,633. This trade represents a 17.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,701 shares of company stock worth $15,441,464. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Equinix Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ EQIX traded down $7.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $926.55. The company had a trading volume of 173,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 496,040. Equinix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $684.14 and a 1-year high of $994.03. The stock has a market cap of $89.40 billion, a PE ratio of 83.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $934.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $898.55.

Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $7.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $5.17. Equinix had a return on equity of 8.34% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equinix, Inc. will post 31.09 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 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $4.69 dividend. This is a positive change from Equinix's previous quarterly dividend of $4.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $18.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Equinix's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 153.65%.

Equinix Profile

Equinix Nasdaq: EQIX is the world's digital infrastructure company . Digital leaders harness Equinix's trusted platform to bring together and interconnect foundational infrastructure at software speed. Equinix enables organizations to access all the right places, partners and possibilities to scale with agility, speed the launch of digital services, deliver world-class experiences and multiply their value, while supporting their sustainability goals.