Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $178.56 Million Holdings in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 6.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,743,918 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 106,589 shares during the period. NetApp comprises 1.1% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in NetApp were worth $178,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of NetApp by 68.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC now owns 253 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Gen Wealth Partners Inc acquired a new position in NetApp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in NetApp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in NetApp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in NetApp by 176.3% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NTAP shares. Bank of America increased their target price on NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Northland Securities increased their price objective on NetApp from $137.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NetApp from $88.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.33.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In other news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.92, for a total transaction of $170,920.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,297 shares in the company, valued at $5,349,283.24. This represents a 3.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $33,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,090 shares in the company, valued at $130,800. This represents a 20.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,181,642. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NetApp Price Performance

NTAP opened at $167.74 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. NetApp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.69 and a 1 year high of $192.83. The stock has a market cap of $32.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.46.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 117.23% and a net margin of 18.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. Analysts forecast that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.70%.

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.