NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) Shares Sold by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,469 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 458 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of NetApp worth $11,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 2.3% in the first quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 4,684 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its position in NetApp by 4.8% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,492 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its position in NetApp by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 3,639 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in NetApp by 58.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 311 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in NetApp by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NTAP traded up $0.59 on Friday, reaching $126.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,194,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,635,626. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $125.02 and a 200 day moving average of $107.12. NetApp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.82 and a twelve month high of $135.01.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 114.54% and a net margin of 15.73%. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that NetApp, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

NetApp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. This is a positive change from NetApp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.83%.

NetApp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to purchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on NTAP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on NetApp from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen raised their price target on NetApp from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on NetApp from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Argus raised their price target on NetApp from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded NetApp from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NetApp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.81.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In other NetApp news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total transaction of $1,108,060.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 314,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,968,758.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total transaction of $1,108,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 314,274 shares in the company, valued at $40,968,758.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.07, for a total value of $60,147.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,581,670.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,786 shares of company stock valued at $5,395,146. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About NetApp

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.