Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.03 Million in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new position in NetApp during the first quarter, buying 10,100 shares worth about $1.03 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 92.17% of NetApp shares held by hedge funds and other institutional investors, and several large funds recently increased their stakes.
• NetApp reported mixed quarterly results: EPS missed estimates at $2.03 versus $2.27 expected, but revenue came in above forecasts at $1.95 billion and rose 12.5% year over year.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,100 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,034,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of NetApp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,192,354 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,091,499,000 after acquiring an additional 115,451 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of NetApp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $458,060,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of NetApp by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,127,533 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $442,018,000 after purchasing an additional 611,003 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in NetApp by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,317,605 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $393,027,000 after purchasing an additional 370,405 shares during the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetApp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $154.17 on Friday. NetApp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.69 and a 52 week high of $192.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $30.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.46.

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

NetApp Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. NetApp's payout ratio is 32.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTAP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on NetApp from $120.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Argus raised their target price on NetApp from $130.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on NetApp from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.33.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $33,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,800. This trade represents a 20.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,164,112.86. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 52,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,106,972 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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