Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Stock Holdings Increased by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,035 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $1,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ANET. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 321.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,806 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 5,955 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 335.6% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 9,278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 7,148 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 308.1% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,261 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 2,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,528,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Trading Up 2.2%

ANET opened at $97.29 on Monday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.43 and a 1-year high of $133.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.43 and a 200-day moving average of $96.55.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Arista Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 6th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 1.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.07, for a total value of $7,205,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,168,748.32. This trade represents a 86.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $102,187.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,305.20. This trade represents a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 105,690 shares of company stock valued at $9,360,205. 3.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ANET has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Arista Networks from $140.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Arista Networks from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on Arista Networks from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Arista Networks from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.47.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.