M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,026 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 6,908 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $8,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. HighMark Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 179.7% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 381.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks by 415.7% in the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ANET traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $106.41. 9,369,978 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,139,936. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.43 and a 1 year high of $133.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $94.33 and a 200 day moving average of $95.20.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Arista Networks announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.23, for a total value of $2,397,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 592,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,637,052. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.36, for a total transaction of $794,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 65,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,536,298.24. This represents a 10.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,123,370 shares of company stock valued at $113,157,408. 3.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $126.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $89.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $109.33.

Arista Networks Company 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.