Aviva PLC Reduces Stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)

Aviva PLC trimmed its holdings in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 60.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,568 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 189,865 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned about 0.06% of NetApp worth $14,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NetApp by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,443,974 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,069,617,000 after purchasing an additional 429,343 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in NetApp by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,985,673 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $738,280,000 after buying an additional 453,324 shares during the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 2,887,795 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $335,215,000 after buying an additional 12,919 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of NetApp in the 4th quarter worth $306,440,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of NetApp by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,083,189 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $241,867,000 after acquiring an additional 729,394 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.17% of the company's stock.

NetApp Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTAP traded up $0.36 during trading on Friday, hitting $82.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,738,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,005. The company has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.91. NetApp, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.84 and a fifty-two week high of $135.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $114.11.

Remove Ads

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. NetApp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on NTAP shares. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $110.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of NetApp in a report on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised NetApp to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on NetApp from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of NetApp from $132.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of NetApp from $160.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $129.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anders Gustafsson bought 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.00 per share, with a total value of $254,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $577,668. This represents a 78.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Cesar Cernuda sold 19,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.15, for a total value of $1,775,594.40. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 11,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,075,309.20. The trade was a 62.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,176 shares of company stock valued at $5,445,901 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

NetApp 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.