Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Position Boosted by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 60.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 680,451 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 255,927 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.05% of Arista Networks worth $52,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 179.7% during 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. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 381.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 415.7% in the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Trading Up 0.0%

ANET traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $112.01. 6,004,141 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,169,641. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.43 and a 12-month high of $133.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.19 and a 200 day moving average of $94.89. The firm has a market cap of $140.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.40.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Arista Networks's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ANET. Citigroup increased their price target on Arista Networks from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Arista Networks from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Arista Networks from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.40.

Insider Activity

In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.18, for a total transaction of $705,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 123,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,915,273.12. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total transaction of $7,205,600.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,168,748.32. This trade represents a 86.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,123,370 shares of company stock worth $113,157,408 in the last 90 days. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.