Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares Acquired by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 312.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,924 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 10,552 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth $242,000. GHE LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 319.0% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 28,368 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 21,597 shares during the period. Colonial River Investments LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 327.6% during the 4th quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 9,745 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,077,000 after purchasing an additional 7,466 shares during the period. Unified Investment Management acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $630,000. Finally, Berkshire Capital Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 257.6% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Capital Holdings Inc. now owns 76,950 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,505,000 after buying an additional 55,430 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ANET. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $73.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, KGI Securities lowered shares of Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $107.14.

Arista Networks Stock Down 3.3%

ANET traded down $3.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.52. 8,333,537 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,065,725. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.43 and a 1-year high of $133.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, insider John F. Mccool sold 17,433 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.14, for a total transaction of $1,623,709.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,623,709.62. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marc Taxay sold 51,848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total transaction of $4,593,214.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 410,755 shares of company stock worth $37,045,233 over the last ninety days. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.