Assetmark Inc. Sells 27,401 Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. reduced its stake in Arista Networks by 11.1%, selling 27,401 shares and ending the quarter with 218,716 shares valued at approximately $16.9 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG, significantly increased their positions in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter.
• Analysts have given Arista Networks a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $111.40, following various ratings upgrades and downgrades throughout the year.

Assetmark Inc. cut its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 218,716 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 27,401 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $16,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP raised 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ANET shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KGI Securities lowered Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Wedbush began coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.40.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

Arista Networks stock traded up $2.38 on Wednesday, reaching $121.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,114,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,479,711. The company has a market cap of $151.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.25, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.40. The business's fifty day moving average price is $99.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.84. Arista Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.43 and a twelve month high of $133.57.

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

Arista Networks announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In related news, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 864 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.68, for a total value of $99,083.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $855,512.80. This represents a 10.38% 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. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 60,698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.02, for a total value of $6,981,483.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,259,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $719,980,457.22. This represents a 0.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,239,440 shares of company stock worth $126,362,429. Insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

About Arista Networks

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.