AlphaQuest LLC Sells 4,400 Shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its holdings in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 46.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,061 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 4,400 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in NetApp were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of NetApp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of NetApp by 826.9% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NetApp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NetApp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of NetApp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Cesar Cernuda sold 22,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.99, for a total transaction of $2,529,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 27,099 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,116,114.01. This trade represents a 44.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 528 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $48,882.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,194,282. The trade was a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,431 shares of company stock valued at $7,309,224. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NTAP. StockNews.com lowered shares of NetApp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of NetApp from $132.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $110.00 price target (down previously from $120.00) on shares of NetApp in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of NetApp from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Northland Securities increased their price target on shares of NetApp from $108.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.07.

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NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTAP opened at $90.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.89. NetApp, Inc. has a one year low of $90.08 and a one year high of $135.45.

NetApp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. NetApp's payout ratio is currently 38.52%.

NetApp Company Profile

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.

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