Sarasin & Partners LLP Sells 76,937 Shares of NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Sarasin & Partners LLP reduced its position in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 33.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 152,975 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 76,937 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned 0.08% of NetApp worth $23,674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in NetApp by 68.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of NetApp during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NetApp in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NTAP opened at $191.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $166.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.35. NetApp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.69 and a fifty-two week high of $195.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.11, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.45.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. 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 analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.70%.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In other NetApp news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.92, for a total value of $170,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,297 shares in the company, valued at $5,349,283.24. The trade was a 3.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Cesar Cernuda sold 49,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.82, for a total value of $7,658,016.48. Following the sale, the president owned 46,806 shares in the company, valued at $7,246,504.92. The trade was a 51.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,181,642. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTAP has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Argus increased their price objective on NetApp from $130.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.