Novem Group Makes New Investment in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Novem Group has acquired a new stake in NetApp, Inc., purchasing 9,196 shares valued at approximately $980,000 during the second quarter.
• Over 92% of NetApp's stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, with Vanguard Group significantly increasing its position by 2.3%.
• NetApp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52, with a corresponding yield of 1.7% and a dividend payout ratio of 36.75%.

Novem Group purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,196 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $980,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in NetApp by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,041,930 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,375,363,000 after purchasing an additional 597,956 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NetApp by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,096,679 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $623,383,000 after buying an additional 72,223 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of NetApp by 18.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,546,548 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $311,529,000 after acquiring an additional 560,218 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in NetApp by 12.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,507,590 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $308,107,000 after acquiring an additional 384,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in NetApp by 11.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,179,710 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $183,209,000 after acquiring an additional 230,793 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.91, for a total value of $1,075,462.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 274,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,792,629.58. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.67, for a total transaction of $123,670.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 23,628 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,922,074.76. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,750 shares of company stock valued at $3,255,778 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NetApp Trading Down 0.7%

NTAP opened at $119.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $113.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.74. NetApp, Inc. has a one year low of $71.84 and a one year high of $135.45. The stock has a market cap of $23.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.46.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on NetApp from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of NetApp from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of NetApp from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $124.07.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.