Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its holdings in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,637,329 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 71,852 shares during the quarter. NetApp makes up about 1.0% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in NetApp were worth $175,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of NetApp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,192,354 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,091,499,000 after buying an additional 115,451 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of NetApp by 17.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,915,553 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $582,296,000 after buying an additional 718,409 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in NetApp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $458,060,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in NetApp by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,127,533 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $442,018,000 after purchasing an additional 611,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in NetApp by 12.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,317,605 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $393,027,000 after purchasing an additional 370,405 shares in the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetApp Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $161.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $31.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day moving average is $125.92 and its 200 day moving average is $112.27. NetApp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.69 and a 52-week high of $192.83.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on NetApp from $115.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Northland Securities increased their price objective on NetApp from $137.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetApp

In other NetApp news, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.09, for a total transaction of $38,495.25. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,488.10. This trade represents a 17.11% decrease in their position. 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 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.48, for a total value of $163,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 32,297 shares in the company, valued at $5,279,913.56. This trade represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 3,500 shares of company stock worth $448,955 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

About NetApp

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.