Occidental Asset Management LLC Invests $8.30 Million in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 53,647 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,302,000. NetApp comprises approximately 0.8% of Occidental Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in NetApp during the 2nd quarter worth about $258,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in NetApp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $195,203,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NetApp during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,027,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of NetApp during the 2nd quarter worth about $78,317,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the second quarter worth about $1,571,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Price Performance

NetApp stock opened at $204.20 on Tuesday. NetApp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.69 and a 1 year high of $209.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.39. The company has a market cap of $40.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.11, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.44.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.27 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 117.23% and a net margin of 18.43%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.82, for a total value of $193,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,872,164.54. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 225 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.09, for a total value of $38,495.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,090 shares in the company, valued at $186,488.10. The trade was a 17.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,689 shares of company stock valued at $8,224,732. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NTAP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of NetApp from $130.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered NetApp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.33.

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.