Acadian Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)

Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 17.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,791,599 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 416,233 shares during the quarter. NetApp makes up 1.1% of Acadian Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NetApp were worth $359,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 127.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,698,277 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $149,720,000 after buying an additional 950,204 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in NetApp by 46.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 16,720 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 5,273 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in NetApp in the first quarter valued at $473,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the 4th quarter worth $802,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of NetApp by 189.2% during the 4th quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 263,103 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $23,195,000 after purchasing an additional 172,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 452 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.07, for a total transaction of $60,147.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,581,670.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total value of $1,108,060.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,786 shares of company stock worth $5,395,146. 0.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NetApp Price Performance

NetApp stock opened at $114.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 1.27. NetApp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.82 and a 12-month high of $135.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $126.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.86.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The data storage provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.53 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 121.41%. NetApp’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Equities analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current year.

NetApp announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to buy up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. NetApp’s payout ratio is currently 44.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTAP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of NetApp from $106.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on NetApp from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a report on Monday, August 26th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on NetApp from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NetApp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.06.

NetApp 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.