NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) Shares Sold by National Bank of Canada FI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its holdings in NetApp, Inc. by 2.1%, owning 185,001 shares valued at $16.25 million at the end of the last quarter.
• NetApp recently reported $1.93 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.90, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 3.8% to $1.73 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing a 2.0% yield and a payout ratio of 36.62%.

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 185,001 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 3,886 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.09% of NetApp worth $16,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FIL Ltd boosted its position in NetApp by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,565 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 13,294 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 1,982 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 500,117 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $58,054,000 after purchasing an additional 9,154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company's stock.

NetApp Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $105.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.44. NetApp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.84 and a 1 year high of $135.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm's 50-day moving average is $104.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.01.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. NetApp had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 126.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.80 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is 36.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on NetApp from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued a "cautious" rating on shares of NetApp in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of NetApp from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $119.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.84, for a total value of $106,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,590,976.84. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 302 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.77, for a total transaction of $29,828.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,940.35. This trade represents a 39.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,302 shares of company stock worth $1,920,479 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NetApp Profile

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.

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