ING Groep NV Takes Position in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• ING Groep NV disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in NetApp, buying 352,498 shares worth about $37.7 million, giving it roughly 0.18% ownership.
• NetApp reported quarterly earnings of $2.03 per share, missing expectations, even as revenue of $1.95 billion topped estimates and rose 12.5% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $169.33.

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 352,498 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $37,749,000. ING Groep NV owned about 0.18% of NetApp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTAP. Norges Bank bought a new position in NetApp during the fourth quarter valued at about $458,060,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in 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 valued at $215,987,000 after buying an additional 886,485 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $219,058,000 after buying an additional 771,835 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in NetApp by 17.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,915,553 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $582,296,000 after buying an additional 718,409 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in NetApp by 83.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,544,513 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $164,568,000 after buying an additional 700,467 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NetApp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NetApp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of NetApp from $120.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NetApp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $169.33.

NetApp Trading Down 6.6%

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $167.04 on Friday. NetApp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.69 and a 12-month high of $192.83. The company has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a PEG ratio of 3.06 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. The company's 50-day moving average price is $119.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.25.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $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, equities analysts expect that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $186,488.10. This trade represents a 17.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,382 shares in the company, valued at $2,164,112.86. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,500 shares of company stock worth $386,145 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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