NetApp, Inc. $NTAP Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its NetApp stake by 36.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,826 shares and leaving it with 15,525 shares worth about $1.66 million.
• NetApp posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $2.12 beating estimates and revenue of $1.71 billion slightly above forecasts; revenue also rose 4.4% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautious overall, with analysts holding an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $122.27, even as NetApp continued to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise decreased its position in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 36.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,525 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 8,826 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in NetApp were worth $1,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in NetApp by 94.6% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,823,292 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $215,987,000 after buying an additional 886,485 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in NetApp by 71.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,849,218 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $219,058,000 after purchasing an additional 771,835 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in NetApp by 17.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,915,553 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $582,296,000 after purchasing an additional 718,409 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in NetApp by 83.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,544,513 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $164,568,000 after purchasing an additional 700,467 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in NetApp by 216.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $109,875,000 after purchasing an additional 634,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company's stock.

NetApp Stock Performance

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $123.94 on Friday. NetApp, Inc. has a one year low of $93.69 and a one year high of $126.66. The company has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.57.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The data storage provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 118.11% and a net margin of 18.07%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. NetApp has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 2.210-2.310 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.920-8.020 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that NetApp, Inc. will post 6.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 3rd were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is 34.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NetApp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, April 19th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of NetApp from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered shares of NetApp from a "neutral" rating to a "mixed" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of NetApp from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $122.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $33,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $130,800. This represents a 20.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,164,112.86. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 3,275 shares of company stock valued at $347,650 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About NetApp

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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