NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) Position Decreased by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,552 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in NetApp were worth $2,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NetApp during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 706.3% during the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 258 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of NetApp in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in NetApp in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 92.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total value of $1,108,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 314,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,968,758.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO George Kurian sold 8,500 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.36, for a total value of $1,108,060.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 314,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,968,758.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.07, for a total transaction of $60,147.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,581,670.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,452 shares of company stock valued at $4,970,628. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $122.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $123.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.56. NetApp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $70.82 and a 52 week high of $135.01.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The data storage provider reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.11. NetApp had a net margin of 17.01% and a return on equity of 121.41%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.84 EPS. NetApp’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that NetApp, Inc. will post 5.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetApp declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 30th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to purchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NTAP shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of NetApp from $121.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of NetApp from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Argus raised their target price on NetApp from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of NetApp in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research report on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.06.

About NetApp

NetApp, Inc provides cloud-led and data-centric services to manage and share data on-premises, and private and public clouds worldwide. It operates in two segments, Hybrid Cloud and Public Could. The company offers intelligent data management software, such as NetApp ONTAP, NetApp Snapshot, NetApp SnapCenter Backup Management, NetApp SnapMirror Data Replication, NetApp SnapLock Data Compliance, and storage infrastructure solutions, including NetApp All-Flash FAS series, NetApp Fabric Attached Storage, NetApp E/EF series, and NetApp StorageGRID.