NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $117.79.

Several brokerages have commented on NTAP. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of NetApp from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of NetApp from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "cautious" rating on shares of NetApp in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $108.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a research note on Friday, May 30th.

NetApp Stock Up 0.9%

NTAP opened at $105.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.25. NetApp has a fifty-two week low of $71.84 and a fifty-two week high of $135.45. The firm's fifty day moving average is $98.07 and its 200 day moving average is $104.16. The stock has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.42.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.72 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 18.05% and a return on equity of 126.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that NetApp will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. NetApp's payout ratio is 36.62%.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In related news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 302 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.77, for a total transaction of $29,828.54. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,940.35. This represents a 39.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.83, for a total transaction of $695,555.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 249,765 shares in the company, valued at $20,438,269.95. This represents a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,302 shares of company stock worth $1,590,514. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetApp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in NetApp by 826.9% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in NetApp in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in NetApp by 929.6% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 278 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 1248 Management LLC bought a new position in NetApp in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in NetApp by 375.0% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 285 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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