NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Grows Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 346.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,538 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,402 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 415.3% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 9,490 shares during the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,376,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $480,000. IronOak Wealth LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,039,000. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,572,000. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:ANET traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.49. The stock had a trading volume of 16,490,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,029,731. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.43 and a 12 month high of $133.58. The company has a market capitalization of $108.62 billion, a PE ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $81.89 and its 200 day moving average is $96.60.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The business's revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 51,848 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total value of $4,593,214.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $102,187.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,305.20. This represents a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 237,538 shares of company stock worth $20,748,219 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ANET. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Erste Group Bank lowered Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Arista Networks from $140.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Needham & Company LLC started coverage on Arista Networks in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $107.47.

Arista Networks Profile

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.