Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $1.03 Million Investment in NetApp, Inc. $NTAP

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,100 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,034,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of NetApp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,192,354 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,091,499,000 after buying an additional 115,451 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of NetApp by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,915,553 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $582,296,000 after buying an additional 718,409 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NetApp in the 4th quarter valued at about $458,060,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in NetApp by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,127,533 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $442,018,000 after acquiring an additional 611,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its holdings in NetApp by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,317,605 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $393,027,000 after acquiring an additional 370,405 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Price Performance

NTAP stock opened at $154.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $142.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.71. NetApp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.69 and a 52-week high of $192.83. The company has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The data storage provider reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. NetApp had a return on equity of 117.23% and a net margin of 18.43%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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. Analysts predict that NetApp, Inc. will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio is 32.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTAP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on NetApp from $114.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Argus lifted their price objective on NetApp from $130.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of NetApp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NetApp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.33.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.73, for a total value of $117,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 18,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,164,112.86. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Cesar Cernuda sold 49,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,246,504.92. This represents a 51.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,964 shares of company stock valued at $8,106,972. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.