SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 1,051,863 Shares of NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• SG Americas Securities LLC increased its NetApp stake by 378.9% in the first quarter, adding more than 1.05 million shares and bringing its total holdings to 1.33 million shares valued at about $136.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on NetApp is mixed: analysts have an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $169.33, though several firms recently raised their targets and Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock to Buy.
• NetApp posted quarterly revenue of $1.95 billion, topping estimates, but earnings per share of $2.03 missed expectations; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share.

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 378.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,329,475 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,051,863 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.67% of NetApp worth $136,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rossby Financial LCC lifted its holdings in NetApp by 105.5% in the 3rd quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 224 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in NetApp by 68.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new stake in NetApp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in NetApp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NetApp by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTAP has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NetApp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $169.33.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.09, for a total value of $38,495.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $186,488.10. This trade represents a 17.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.48, for a total value of $163,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,279,913.56. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,500 shares of company stock worth $448,955. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

NetApp Price Performance

NASDAQ NTAP opened at $159.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $31.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.44. NetApp, Inc. has a one year low of $93.69 and a one year high of $192.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $131.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.00.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.27 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 117.23% and a net margin of 18.43%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. NetApp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.70%.

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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