Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares Purchased by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 8.9%, owning 39,249 shares valued at approximately $3.04 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares for over $243 million, resulting in a 23.86% reduction in her ownership of the company's stock.
• Analyst ratings for Arista Networks have been mixed, with six analysts rating it as a hold and fourteen assigning a buy rating, alongside a mixed price target increase from various firms.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,249 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,220 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $3,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ANET. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 381.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 415.7% during the 4th quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.22, for a total value 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 approximately $776,191,640.28. This represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,574,763 shares of company stock worth $687,094,691. 3.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANET has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. BNP Paribas downgraded Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $150.00 price target on Arista Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $138.07.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of ANET opened at $137.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $173.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.14, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $106.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.12. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.43 and a 12 month high of $141.75.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 40.90%. The firm's revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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