119,168 Shares in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 119,168 NetApp shares worth approximately $18.4 million, while institutional investors collectively own 92.17% of the company.
• NetApp insiders sold 55,297 shares valued at about $8.76 million over the past three months, leaving corporate insiders with 0.36% ownership.
• NetApp reported quarterly revenue of $1.95 billion, up 12.5% year over year, but earnings of $2.03 per share fell short of the $2.27 analyst consensus. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $179.77 price target.

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 119,168 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,442,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.06% of NetApp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in NetApp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,925,168,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in NetApp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,192,354 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,091,499,000 after purchasing an additional 115,451 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of NetApp in the second quarter worth $1,395,423,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of NetApp by 17.1% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NetApp during the fourth quarter worth $458,060,000. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $186,488.10. This represents a 17.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.82, for a total transaction of $193,820.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 30,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,872,164.54. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 55,297 shares of company stock valued at $8,758,016 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NetApp Stock Down 1.9%

NetApp stock opened at $187.02 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $175.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.03. 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 firm has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.45. NetApp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.69 and a 52 week high of $209.06.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NTAP shares. Morgan Stanley raised NetApp from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $137.00 to $173.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised NetApp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on NetApp from $120.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered NetApp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.77.

NetApp Profile

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.

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