Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Position in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,971,899 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 103,698 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.97% of NetApp worth $228,907,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of NetApp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in NetApp in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in NetApp in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in NetApp during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 92.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetApp Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NTAP stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $88.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,699,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,928,325. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $93.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.31. NetApp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.84 and a 52-week high of $135.45.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NTAP has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of NetApp from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on NetApp from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of NetApp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of NetApp to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of NetApp in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, NetApp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $125.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anders Gustafsson bought 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.00 per share, with a total value of $254,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $577,668. This trade represents a 78.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 452 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.75, for a total transaction of $54,579.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,553 shares in the company, valued at $1,395,024.75. This represents a 3.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,176 shares of company stock valued at $5,095,701 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.