Saudi Central Bank Acquires 6,502 Shares of NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• Saudi Central Bank increased its NetApp stake by 88.9% in the second quarter, purchasing 6,502 additional shares for a total holding of 13,813 shares valued at approximately $2.14 million. Institutional investors own 92.17% of NetApp.
• NetApp reported quarterly earnings of $2.58 per share, exceeding estimates of $2.12, while revenue rose 29.9% year over year to $2.02 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with six Buy ratings and ten Hold ratings; the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $192.07. NetApp shares opened at $185.59, near their 12-month high of $209.06.

Saudi Central Bank boosted its holdings in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 88.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,813 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,502 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in NetApp were worth $2,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NTAP. Park Square Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of NetApp by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of NetApp in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in NetApp in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc bought a new stake in NetApp during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in NetApp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 92.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Cesar Cernuda sold 2,608 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.48, for a total value of $533,283.84. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 46,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,514,454.40. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth O'Callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.82, for a total transaction of $193,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,872,164.54. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,072 shares of company stock valued at $8,719,520. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NTAP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on NetApp from $199.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America raised their price target on NetApp from $180.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of NetApp in a research report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $192.07.

NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NTAP stock opened at $185.59 on Tuesday. NetApp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $93.69 and a twelve month high of $209.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.44.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 2nd. The data storage provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 119.13% and a net margin of 19.18%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 9.730-10.030 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 2.540-2.640 EPS. On average, analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NetApp's payout ratio is currently 29.34%.

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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