The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $15.41 Million Stock Position in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company has reduced its holdings in NetApp, Inc. by 3.2%, selling 5,795 shares and now owns approximately 0.09% of the company valued at $15.4 million.
• NetApp recently announced a $0.52 quarterly dividend, yielding 1.8% annually, with payment set for October 22nd.
• Several analysts have increased their price targets for NetApp, with Barclays raising its target from $117 to $125 and Citigroup from $110 to $115, reflecting a generally positive outlook.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,373 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 5,795 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.09% of NetApp worth $15,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of NetApp by 375.0% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 285 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in NetApp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in NetApp by 54.9% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 350 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in NetApp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetApp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

NetApp Price Performance

NASDAQ NTAP traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $122.06. The stock had a trading volume of 530,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,052,959. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.75. The company has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.46. NetApp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.84 and a 52-week high of $135.45.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. NetApp's payout ratio is currently 36.75%.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.90, for a total value of $105,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 23,251 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,462,280.90. This represents a 4.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.78, for a total value of $865,130.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 296,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,208,812.90. This trade represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $2,921,775. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NTAP. Barclays lifted their target price on NetApp from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NetApp from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on NetApp from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on NetApp from $121.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a report on Friday, August 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $124.07.

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.