National Pension Service Has $19.37 Million Stake in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

National Pension Service boosted its stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 180,917 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,643 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in NetApp were worth $19,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in NetApp in the fourth quarter valued at $14,869,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in NetApp by 4.9% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 432,772 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $51,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,089 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in NetApp by 216.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 927,525 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $109,875,000 after purchasing an additional 634,085 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in NetApp by 106.8% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 262,732 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,136,000 after purchasing an additional 135,715 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension acquired a new stake in NetApp in the fourth quarter valued at $21,234,000. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 18,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,164,112.86. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $33,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $130,800. The trade was a 20.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,275 shares of company stock valued at $347,650. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NTAP. Weiss Ratings downgraded NetApp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. Barclays increased their price target on NetApp from $120.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Northland Securities increased their price target on NetApp from $137.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on NetApp from $115.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $157.50.

NetApp Stock Performance

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $174.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $112.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.92. NetApp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.69 and a 1-year high of $192.83. The company has a market cap of $34.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.44.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.24). NetApp had a return on equity of 117.23% and a net margin of 18.43%.The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. The business’s 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.70%.

NetApp News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NetApp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NetApp reported fiscal Q4 revenue of $1.95 billion, topping estimates and rising 12.5% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS came in at $2.43, also above expectations. NetApp Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued FY2027 guidance above Wall Street estimates, pointing to revenue of about $7.3 billion-$7.6 billion and EPS of $8.70-$9.00, which supports optimism for continued growth and margin expansion. Why NetApp Stock Soared 35% Friday Morning
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts sharply lifted price targets after the report, including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wedbush, Susquehanna, Northland, and Wells Fargo, signaling that the earnings beat may lead to higher estimates even if several firms kept neutral or hold-type ratings. Analyst price target updates
• Positive Sentiment: NetApp also announced a quarterly dividend and a new $1 billion share repurchase program, adding to shareholder returns and potentially supporting the stock. NetApp Announces New $1 Billion Share Repurchase Program

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.