Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 49,223 Shares of NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR - Free Report) by 115.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,896 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 49,223 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.32% of NETGEAR worth $2,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in NETGEAR during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of NETGEAR in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of NETGEAR in the fourth quarter worth $92,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in NETGEAR in the fourth quarter valued at $185,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in NETGEAR by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,566 shares of the communications equipment provider's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Murray Bryan sold 3,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $92,044.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 193,032 shares in the company, valued at $4,617,325.44. The trade was a 1.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles J. Prober sold 10,929 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total transaction of $291,148.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 507,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,526,806.32. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

NETGEAR Price Performance

NASDAQ NTGR traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.11. 198,999 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 326,689. The stock has a market cap of $638.29 million, a P/E ratio of 55.28 and a beta of 1.03. NETGEAR, Inc. has a one year low of $10.48 and a one year high of $31.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.67.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.24). NETGEAR had a negative return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 1.83%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that NETGEAR, Inc. will post -1.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTGR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James upped their price target on NETGEAR from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut NETGEAR from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st.

About NETGEAR

NETGEAR, Inc provides connectivity solutions the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, Africa; and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Connected Home, and NETGEAR for Business. The Connected Home segment offers Wi-Fi routers and home Wi-Fi mesh systems, Wi-Fi hotspots, digital displays, broadband modems, Wi-Fi gateways, Wi-Fi range extenders, powerline adapters, and Wi-Fi network adapters; and provides value-added service offerings, including security and privacy, technical support, and parental controls.