Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Position in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in NetApp, Inc. by 19.7% during the 1st quarter, now owning 484,669 shares valued at approximately $42.57 million.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for NetApp, with Citigroup raising it to $115 and JPMorgan Chase increasing it to $130, reflecting a range of optimistic ratings from "buy" to "hold."
• NetApp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, which will be paid on October 22nd, providing a yield of about 1.7%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 19.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 484,669 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 119,207 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.24% of NetApp worth $42,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Amundi grew its holdings in NetApp by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,179,710 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $183,209,000 after buying an additional 230,793 shares in the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its holdings in NetApp by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 28,930 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,541,000 after buying an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of NetApp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $209,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NetApp by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,039 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NetApp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 92.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetApp

In other news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.08, for a total value of $918,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 288,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,160,004.40. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.67, for a total value of $123,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,922,074.76. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock worth $3,045,445 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

NetApp Stock Down 0.9%

NetApp stock traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $124.00. 1,868,584 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,189,446. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.31. The company has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.46. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $109.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.92. NetApp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.84 and a 12 month high of $135.45.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTAP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on NetApp from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of NetApp in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on NetApp from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Northland Securities increased their target price on NetApp from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of NetApp in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $124.07.

NetApp Profile

NetApp, Inc provides cloud-led and data-centric services to manage and share data on-premises, and private and public clouds worldwide. It operates in two segments, Hybrid Cloud and Public Could. The company offers intelligent data management software, such as NetApp ONTAP, NetApp Snapshot, NetApp SnapCenter Backup Management, NetApp SnapMirror Data Replication, NetApp SnapLock Data Compliance, and storage infrastructure solutions, including NetApp All-Flash FAS series, NetApp Fabric Attached Storage, NetApp E/EF series, and NetApp StorageGRID.