Saudi Central Bank Boosts Stock Position in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Saudi Central Bank raised its position in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 88.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,813 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,502 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in NetApp were worth $2,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NTAP. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of NetApp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,925,168,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of NetApp by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,192,354 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,091,499,000 after acquiring an additional 115,451 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in NetApp during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,395,423,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 valued at $582,296,000 after acquiring an additional 718,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in NetApp by 9.4% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,444,057 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $687,762,000 after acquiring an additional 383,701 shares in the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In other news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.82, for a total value of $193,820.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,297 shares in the company, valued at $5,872,164.54. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Cesar Cernuda sold 2,608 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.48, for a total value of $533,283.84. Following the sale, the president directly owned 46,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,514,454.40. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,072 shares of company stock valued at $8,719,520. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NetApp Stock Performance

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $185.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. NetApp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.69 and a 12-month high of $209.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $179.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.72.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The data storage provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.46. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. NetApp had a net margin of 19.18% and a return on equity of 119.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 9.730-10.030 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 2.540-2.640 EPS. Analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. NetApp’s payout ratio is currently 29.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NTAP shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of NetApp in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America boosted their target price on NetApp from $180.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NetApp from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore set a $210.00 price target on NetApp in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NetApp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.07.

NetApp Profile

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.