Kentucky Retirement Systems Purchases 15,594 Shares of NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Kentucky Retirement Systems more than doubled its NetApp position in the first quarter, purchasing 15,594 additional shares to own 28,138 shares worth approximately $2.88 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.17% of NetApp.
• NetApp reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue rising 12.5% year over year to $1.95 billion and exceeding estimates, while adjusted EPS of $2.03 fell short of the $2.27 consensus. The company guided to fiscal 2027 EPS of $8.70–$9.00.
• The stock opened at $173.98, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $169.33. NetApp also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing a 1.2% annualized yield.

Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its position in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 124.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,138 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,594 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in NetApp were worth $2,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in NetApp by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 759 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of NetApp during the second quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 9.9% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 46,792 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $4,986,000 after purchasing an additional 4,232 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in NetApp by 7.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 24,301 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in NetApp by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,161 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NetApp news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $33,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,800. This trade represents a 20.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Cesar Cernuda sold 49,464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 46,806 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,246,504.92. This represents a 51.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 52,964 shares of company stock worth $8,181,642 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NetApp Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $173.98 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $162.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.44. NetApp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.69 and a fifty-two week high of $192.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.46.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 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 was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. 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 anticipate that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NetApp has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $169.33.

NetApp Company 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.

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