Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares Acquired by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Arista Networks by 1.9%, owning 168,372 shares worth approximately $13 million.
• Arista Networks reported a quarterly revenue of $2.20 billion, exceeding analyst estimates, and its EPS was $0.73, outperforming expectations by $0.08.
• The company has authorized a stock repurchase plan of up to $1.50 billion, indicating leadership's confidence in the stock's value.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,372 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,140 shares during the period. Arista Networks accounts for about 2.0% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $13,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ANET. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $5,984,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors grew its position in Arista Networks by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 58,093 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,501,000 after buying an additional 7,329 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth $629,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 613,309 shares of the technology company's stock worth $47,519,000 after buying an additional 101,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $15,227,000. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Shares of ANET opened at $139.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.37. Arista Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $59.43 and a one year high of $141.01. The stock's fifty day moving average is $105.60 and its 200-day moving average is $95.30.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 40.90%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.22, for a total transaction of $243,175,176.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,698,074 shares of the company's stock, valued at $776,191,640.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.19, for a total value of $3,335,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,442,801.44. This represents a 69.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,228,907 shares of company stock valued at $638,699,061 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ANET. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Erste Group Bank raised Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Arista Networks from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.07.

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.

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