Swiss National Bank Raises Holdings in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 581,300 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in NetApp were worth $59,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in NetApp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,192,354 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,091,499,000 after purchasing an additional 115,451 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in NetApp by 17.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 718,409 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of NetApp in the fourth quarter worth about $458,060,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 raised its position in shares of NetApp by 12.6% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,317,605 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $393,027,000 after purchasing an additional 370,405 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, President Cesar Cernuda sold 49,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.82, for a total transaction of $7,658,016.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 46,806 shares in the company, valued at $7,246,504.92. This represents a 51.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.92, for a total transaction of $170,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,349,283.24. The trade was a 3.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,964 shares of company stock worth $8,181,642. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Trading Up 2.9%

NetApp stock opened at $165.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.44. NetApp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.69 and a fifty-two week high of $192.83. The stock has a market cap of $32.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $155.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.40.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. NetApp’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Friday, July 10th. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.33.

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.