Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 91,023 Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 397.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,902 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 91,023 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Arista Networks were worth $12,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ANET. Caitlin John LLC increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 174.7% in the 4th quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 335.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 264 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE ANET traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.31. 5,866,947 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,063,159. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.95 billion, a PE ratio of 43.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.38. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.43 and a 52-week high of $133.58.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 29.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to buy up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANET has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Arista Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.03, for a total value of $712,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 147,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,157,209.52. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Marc Taxay sold 51,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.59, for a total transaction of $4,593,214.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 410,867 shares of company stock valued at $37,056,669 in the last 90 days. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by 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.