Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Has $12.20 Million Stock Position in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its NetApp stake by 13.4% in the first quarter, holding 119,130 shares valued at about $12.2 million at quarter-end.
• Insider selling was notable, with President Cesar Cernuda selling 49,464 shares in June and insiders offloading 52,964 shares worth about $8.1 million over the last 90 days.
• Analysts remain cautious overall despite higher price targets from several firms; NetApp’s consensus rating is Hold with a consensus price target of $169.33, while the stock recently traded around $154 after a mixed earnings report.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,130 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,037 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned 0.06% of NetApp worth $12,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of NetApp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $458,060,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of NetApp by 378.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,329,475 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $136,125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,863 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of NetApp by 94.6% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,823,292 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $215,987,000 after buying an additional 886,485 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NetApp by 71.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,849,218 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $219,058,000 after buying an additional 771,835 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of NetApp by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,915,553 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $582,296,000 after acquiring an additional 718,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, President Cesar Cernuda sold 49,464 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.82, for a total value of $7,658,016.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 46,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,246,504.92. This trade represents a 51.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total transaction of $117,730.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,164,112.86. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 52,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,106,972 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NTAP shares. Citigroup raised their target price on NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wedbush increased their price target on NetApp from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $169.33.

NetApp Stock Performance

Shares of NTAP opened at $154.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.43 and a 200-day moving average of $116.44. The company has a market cap of $30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.46. NetApp, Inc. has a one year low of $93.69 and a one year high of $192.83.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.24). NetApp had a return on equity of 117.23% and a net margin of 18.43%.The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. NetApp's payout ratio is currently 32.70%.

About NetApp

NetApp, Inc NASDAQ: NTAP is a data management and storage company that delivers hybrid cloud data services for applications and data. Founded in 1992 as Network Appliance and rebranded as NetApp in 2008, the company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. NetApp's offering focuses on enabling organizations to store, manage, protect and move data across on-premises environments and major public clouds.

The company's product portfolio centers on the ONTAP data management software and a range of storage systems and services built around it.

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