Nuveen LLC Makes New Investment in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new position in NetApp, Inc., purchasing 524,768 shares valued at approximately $46.1 million, representing about 0.26% of the company.
• Insider transactions included CEO George Kurian selling 8,500 shares for $865,130, reducing his stake by 2.78%.
• NetApp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 36.62%.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 524,768 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $46,096,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.26% of NetApp as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in NetApp by 2.3% during the first 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 last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in NetApp by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,024,456 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $815,402,000 after purchasing an additional 888,671 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 12.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,507,590 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $308,107,000 after buying an additional 384,362 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,986,330 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $346,653,000 after buying an additional 220,393 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,824,327 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $327,848,000 after buying an additional 550,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NetApp news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.78, for a total transaction of $865,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 296,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,208,812.90. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 302 shares of the company'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 value of $29,828.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 455 shares in the company, valued at $44,940.35. This trade represents a 39.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,302 shares of company stock worth $2,026,379. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

NetApp Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $109.56 on Friday. NetApp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.84 and a 1 year high of $135.45. The company has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.44. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $105.12 and its 200 day moving average is $101.04.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.03. NetApp had a return on equity of 126.96% and a net margin of 18.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NetApp, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is 36.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NTAP. UBS Group decreased their price objective on NetApp from $115.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on NetApp from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on NetApp from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on NetApp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $119.21.

NetApp Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NTAP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report).

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.