True North Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Key Points

• True North Advisors LLC acquired 2,725 shares of Arista Networks, Inc. valued at approximately $211,000 during the first quarter, indicating new institutional interest in the company.
• Arista Networks reported a 30.4% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, reaching $2.20 billion, and earnings surpassed analyst expectations at $0.73 EPS.
• The company has initiated a share buyback program of $1.50 billion, indicating confidence from the Board of Directors in the company's valuation.

True North Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,725 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANET. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 277.5% during the fourth quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 27,288,583 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,016,207,000 after purchasing an additional 20,059,303 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 330.8% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 11,292,585 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,248,169,000 after buying an additional 8,671,235 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Arista Networks by 354.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,942,816 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,098,979,000 after buying an additional 7,753,991 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Arista Networks by 278.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,641,326 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $955,126,000 after buying an additional 6,357,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Arista Networks by 289.1% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,875,759 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $870,513,000 after buying an additional 5,851,653 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Stock Down 0.1%

Arista Networks stock opened at $139.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $174.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.37. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.43 and a 52 week high of $141.01. The business's 50-day moving average price is $105.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.30.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 40.90%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 earnings per share. Arista Networks's quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on ANET shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Arista Networks from $123.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $112.00 price target for the company. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Arista Networks from $106.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $138.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.01, for a total value of $936,080.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 57,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,761,305.84. This trade represents a 12.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 1,785,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.22, for a total value of $243,175,176.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,698,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $776,191,640.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,228,907 shares of company stock valued at $638,699,061 in the last three months. 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.

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