Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares Bought by DSM Capital Partners LLC

DSM Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 259.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,188,878 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,746,407 shares during the quarter. Arista Networks comprises about 8.9% of DSM Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. DSM Capital Partners LLC owned 0.41% of Arista Networks worth $573,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ANET. Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 537.2% during the fourth quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 56,523 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,247,000 after buying an additional 47,652 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Arista Networks by 298.3% during the fourth quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,244 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,111,000 after buying an additional 34,633 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $149,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 295.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,352,863 shares of the technology company's stock worth $149,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,011,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Arista Networks by 305.1% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 300,665 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,233,000 after purchasing an additional 226,437 shares during the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ANET has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Arista Networks from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arista Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $113.79.

Arista Networks Price Performance

ANET traded down $5.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.31. 13,984,341 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,062,921. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $113.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.09. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $60.08 and a 52 week high of $133.57.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total value of $8,663,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,171.04. This represents a 86.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.65, for a total value of $825,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,946 shares in the company, valued at $17,721,666.90. This trade represents a 4.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,056 shares of company stock worth $30,225,623. Company insiders own 3.54% of the company's stock.

Arista Networks Profile

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.