NetApp, Inc. $NTAP Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 30.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 357,345 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 155,675 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.18% of NetApp worth $36,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NTAP. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in NetApp by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 4,518 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NetApp by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,540 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NetApp by 115.1% during the first quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 4,812 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. acquired a new position in shares of NetApp during the first quarter worth about $356,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of NetApp by 4.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 10,212 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,042,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NetApp news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.92, for a total value of $170,920.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Lorenzo Daniel De sold 225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.09, for a total value of $38,495.25. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,090 shares in the company, valued at approximately $186,488.10. The trade was a 17.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 52,964 shares of company stock worth $8,181,642 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NetApp Price Performance

NTAP stock opened at $165.76 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $155.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $32.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.46. NetApp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.69 and a fifty-two week high of $192.83.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last announced 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). NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 8.700-9.000 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 2.050-2.150 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. NetApp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NTAP shares. Wedbush raised 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. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of NetApp from $110.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of NetApp from $115.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of NetApp from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of NetApp in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.