UMB Bank n.a. Makes New $1.19 Million Investment in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

UMB Bank n.a. purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,291 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,984,000. GHE LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 319.0% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 28,368 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 21,597 shares during the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 327.6% in the 4th quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 9,745 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 7,466 shares during the last quarter. Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $630,000. Finally, Berkshire Capital Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 257.6% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Capital Holdings Inc. now owns 76,950 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,505,000 after purchasing an additional 55,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $102,187.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,305.20. The trade was a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.55, for a total value of $620,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,840,249.20. This trade represents a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,690 shares of company stock valued at $9,360,205. 3.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on ANET shares. Wedbush started coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Arista Networks from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.47.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of ANET stock opened at $96.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.52. The stock has a market cap of $121.74 billion, a PE ratio of 43.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.37. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.43 and a 1 year high of $133.58.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. Arista Networks’s revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Arista Networks Profile

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.