Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 235,790 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,606 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $18,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 179.7% during the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 358 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 381.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Arista Networks by 415.7% during the fourth quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 45.8% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 455 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ANET traded up $2.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $101.07. The company had a trading volume of 8,322,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,103,713. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.43 and a 12-month high of $133.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.46. The company has a market cap of $126.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.78, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.40.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released 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. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 40.72%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 earnings per share. Arista Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ANET. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upgraded Arista Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $115.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Arista Networks from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $106.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. KGI Securities downgraded shares of Arista Networks to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $109.33.

Insider Activity at Arista Networks

In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.18, for a total transaction of $705,440.00. Following the sale, the director owned 123,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,915,273.12. This trade represents a 6.07% 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, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total transaction of $7,205,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,168,748.32. The trade was a 86.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,115,400 shares of company stock worth $112,364,640. 3.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arista Networks Company 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.