Erste Asset Management GmbH Lowers Stock Position in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its holdings in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 26.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,359 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 22,554 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in NetApp were worth $6,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in NetApp by 17.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,915,553 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $582,296,000 after buying an additional 718,409 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in NetApp during the fourth quarter worth $458,060,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in NetApp by 12.6% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,317,605 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $393,027,000 after buying an additional 370,405 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in NetApp by 1.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,903,077 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $343,899,000 after buying an additional 29,871 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of NetApp by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,091,817 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $247,795,000 after purchasing an additional 13,195 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $170.31 on Tuesday. NetApp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.69 and a 52 week high of $192.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $121.12 and a 200 day moving average of $110.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.44.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.24). NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total transaction of $117,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,164,112.86. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 225 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.09, for a total transaction of $38,495.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,090 shares in the company, valued at $186,488.10. The trade was a 17.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 2,500 shares of company stock valued at $285,475 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna upped their price objective on NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on NetApp from $120.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.33.

About NetApp

NetApp, Inc (NASDAQ: NTAP) is a data management and storage company that delivers hybrid cloud data services for applications and data. Founded in 1992 as Network Appliance and rebranded as NetApp in 2008, the company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. NetApp’s offering focuses on enabling organizations to store, manage, protect and move data across on-premises environments and major public clouds.

The company’s product portfolio centers on the ONTAP data management software and a range of storage systems and services built around it.