Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $32.34 Million Position in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 315,879 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 26,170 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NetApp were worth $32,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of NetApp in the fourth quarter valued at $458,060,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of NetApp by 127.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,658,066 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $374,549,000 after buying an additional 2,046,912 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of NetApp by 378.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,329,475 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $136,125,000 after buying an additional 1,051,863 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 94.6% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,823,292 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $215,987,000 after buying an additional 886,485 shares during the period. Finally, SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in shares of NetApp during the 1st quarter worth about $89,977,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NetApp stock opened at $174.53 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.01 and a 200-day moving average of $123.61. NetApp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.69 and a 52-week high of $192.83. The stock has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.46.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.27 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during 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%.NetApp’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 EPS for the current year.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. NetApp’s payout ratio is presently 32.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Cesar Cernuda sold 49,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.82, for a total value of $7,658,016.48. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 46,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,246,504.92. The trade was a 51.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.92, for a total value of $170,920.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,297 shares in the company, valued at $5,349,283.24. This represents a 3.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,964 shares of company stock worth $8,181,642. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTAP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of NetApp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on NetApp from $115.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on NetApp from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.33.

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.