NetApp, Inc. $NTAP Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC reduced its stake in NetApp, Inc. by 56.9%, selling 9,043 shares, and now holds a total of 6,836 shares valued at $600,000.
• NetApp has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with a yield of 1.7%, set to be paid on October 22nd.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for NetApp, with a consensus target now at $124.07, while the stock has received a mix of "Buy" and "Hold" ratings from investment analysts.

Ascent Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 56.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,836 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 9,043 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in NetApp were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in NetApp during the 1st quarter valued at $379,000. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in NetApp during the 1st quarter valued at $538,000. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in NetApp during the 1st quarter valued at $2,296,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in NetApp during the 1st quarter valued at $758,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in NetApp by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 8,598 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,970 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NetApp Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ NTAP opened at $123.53 on Thursday. NetApp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.84 and a 1-year high of $135.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company has a market capitalization of $24.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.46. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $108.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.07.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 3rd. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on NTAP shares. Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of NetApp from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of NetApp in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of NetApp from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $124.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetApp

In other NetApp news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.78, for a total transaction of $865,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 296,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,208,812.90. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.90, for a total transaction of $105,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,251 shares in the company, valued at $2,462,280.90. The trade was a 4.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $2,921,775 over the last three months. Company 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.

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