Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs cut its NetApp stake by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 359,058 shares and ending with 2.97 million shares valued at about $318.3 million.
• NetApp’s latest earnings showed a mixed result: EPS missed estimates at $2.03 versus $2.27 expected, but revenue came in ahead of forecasts at $1.95 billion, up 12.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain divided on NTAP, with the stock carrying a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $169.33; NetApp also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, payable July 29.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. decreased its stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,972,161 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 359,058 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.50% of NetApp worth $318,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Rossby Financial LCC grew its position in shares of NetApp by 105.5% during the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 224 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of NetApp by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of NetApp by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on NTAP. Northland Securities increased their target price on NetApp from $137.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wedbush increased their target price on NetApp from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.33.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In other news, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.09, for a total value of $38,495.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $186,488.10. The trade was a 17.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,500 shares of company stock valued at $386,145 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $167.04 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $119.80 and a 200 day moving average of $110.25. NetApp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.69 and a 12 month high of $192.83. The firm has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. NetApp's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. 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, research analysts expect that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. NetApp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.70%.

NetApp Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NTAP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.