NetApp, Inc. $NTAP Shares Acquired by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC has increased its holdings in NetApp, Inc. by 19.4%, now owning 704,364 shares valued at approximately $61.87 million.
• The consensus target price for NetApp shares is $119.21, with a mix of ratings from analysts, including one sell, ten hold, and six buy ratings.
• NetApp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with a current yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 36.62%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 19.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 704,364 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 114,315 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.35% of NetApp worth $61,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in NetApp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in NetApp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $458,000. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in NetApp by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 14,788 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,717,000 after buying an additional 1,689 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in NetApp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,063,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NetApp by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 34,703 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $4,028,000 after buying an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTAP traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.79. 2,066,158 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,490,148. NetApp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.84 and a 1 year high of $135.45. The company has a market cap of $21.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.68.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. NetApp had a return on equity of 126.96% and a net margin of 18.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NTAP shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of NetApp in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on NetApp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $119.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetApp

In other NetApp news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 302 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.77, for a total value of $29,828.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,940.35. This trade represents a 39.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.90, for a total value of $105,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 23,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,462,280.90. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,302 shares of company stock worth $2,026,379. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

About NetApp

NetApp, Inc provides cloud-led and data-centric services to manage and share data on-premises, and private and public clouds worldwide. It operates in two segments, Hybrid Cloud and Public Could. The company offers intelligent data management software, such as NetApp ONTAP, NetApp Snapshot, NetApp SnapCenter Backup Management, NetApp SnapMirror Data Replication, NetApp SnapLock Data Compliance, and storage infrastructure solutions, including NetApp All-Flash FAS series, NetApp Fabric Attached Storage, NetApp E/EF series, and NetApp StorageGRID.