United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Acquires New Stake in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Key Points

• United Super Pty Ltd disclosed a new stake in NetApp during the fourth quarter, buying 123,924 shares worth about $13.27 million. The position represented roughly 0.06% of NetApp at the time of filing.
• NetApp’s latest earnings showed revenue of $1.95 billion, which beat expectations, but EPS of $2.03 missed consensus by $0.24. The company also raised its FY2027 and Q1 FY2027 guidance, signaling improved outlook.
• Several analysts have turned more cautious on the stock, with multiple downgrades and a current consensus rating of “Hold”. NetApp also announced a $1 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share.

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new stake in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 123,924 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,271,000. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund owned 0.06% of NetApp as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTAP. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in NetApp during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,869,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in NetApp by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 432,772 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $51,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,089 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in NetApp by 216.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $109,875,000 after purchasing an additional 634,085 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its holdings in NetApp by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 159,274 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $18,868,000 after purchasing an additional 32,833 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in NetApp by 106.8% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 262,732 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $28,136,000 after purchasing an additional 135,715 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTAP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup downgraded NetApp from a "neutral" rating to a "mixed" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded NetApp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded NetApp from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded NetApp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on NetApp from $118.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NetApp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $122.27.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $33,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $130,800. This represents a 20.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,382 shares in the company, valued at $2,164,112.86. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,275 shares of company stock worth $347,650 over the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NetApp Stock Performance

Shares of NTAP opened at $142.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The business's 50 day moving average price is $110.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.48. NetApp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.69 and a 52 week high of $143.65. The stock has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.28.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 118.11%. The business's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NetApp, Inc. will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is 34.78%.

NetApp News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NetApp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NetApp reported quarterly revenue of $1.95 billion, above consensus, and raised FY2027 and Q1 FY2027 guidance for both EPS and revenue, signaling better-than-expected business momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: The board authorized a new $1 billion share repurchase program, which can support the stock by returning capital to shareholders and reducing share count. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary ahead of earnings highlighted expectations for a strong quarter and noted a recent Google Cloud award, but this appears secondary to the actual results and guidance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite strong revenue growth, NetApp’s EPS of $2.03 missed the $2.27 consensus, which likely explains why investors initially reacted cautiously to the report.
• Negative Sentiment: Some broader commentary has pointed to pressure from slower IT spending and cloud-related competition, which could weigh on sentiment even as the company’s near-term outlook improved. Article Title

NetApp Profile

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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