Madison Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Madison Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 44.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 668,516 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 539,926 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Arista Networks worth $51,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 321.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company's stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 433.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 10,856 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,200,000 after purchasing an additional 8,822 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 343.5% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,110,595 shares of the technology company's stock worth $122,754,000 after purchasing an additional 860,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dudley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 293.7% in the 4th quarter. Dudley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,248 shares of the technology company's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 2,423 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Stock Up 0.3%

ANET stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $114.37. 4,866,258 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,009,131. The stock has a market cap of $143.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.40. Arista Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.43 and a fifty-two week high of $133.57. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $98.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.94.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 40.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 26,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.19, for a total value of $2,890,940.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 582,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,757,056. This represents a 4.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 748,444 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.43, for a total value of $76,663,118.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,072,900. This represents a 96.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,177,878 shares of company stock worth $119,281,861. 3.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ANET. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $89.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. KGI Securities lowered Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.40.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.