Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares Acquired by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,552 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,877 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $25,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighMark Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 179.7% during the first 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 last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Arista Networks by 381.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 415.7% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Arista Networks during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Arista Networks stock traded up $2.85 on Wednesday, hitting $106.24. The stock had a trading volume of 6,296,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,103,331. The stock has a market cap of $133.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.02, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $93.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.12. Arista Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $59.43 and a one year high of $133.58.

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

Arista Networks announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.18, for a total value of $705,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 123,784 shares in the company, valued at $10,915,273.12. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total transaction of $7,205,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,168,748.32. The trade was a 86.04% 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 worth $113,157,408. 3.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ANET. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Barclays lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $140.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $109.33.

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.