Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Lowers Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI has reduced its stake in Arista Networks by 61.3%, now holding 31,316 shares worth approximately $2.43 million.
• Many institutional investors have increased their stakes in Arista Networks, with ownership now at 82.47% of the company's stock.
• Arista Networks reported strong financial results, with a revenue increase of 30.4% year-over-year and an earnings per share topping analysts' expectations.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 61.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,316 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 49,523 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $2,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 97,856,933 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,581,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771,982 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 277.5% in the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 27,288,583 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,016,207,000 after acquiring an additional 20,059,303 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 330.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 11,292,585 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,248,169,000 after acquiring an additional 8,671,235 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 354.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,942,816 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,098,979,000 after acquiring an additional 7,753,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 37.3% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,552,484 shares of the technology company's stock worth $740,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,594,184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:ANET traded down $0.13 on Friday, hitting $139.15. The stock had a trading volume of 9,762,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,029,182. The stock has a market cap 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. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $104.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.41. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.43 and a 52-week high of $141.01.

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

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $243,175,176.30. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.19, for a total value of $3,335,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,442,801.44. This trade represents a 69.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,228,907 shares of company stock worth $638,699,061 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ANET shares. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank raised Arista Networks from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane cut Arista Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $138.07.

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.