First Business Financial Services Inc. Acquires 45,204 Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Free Report) by 318.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 59,415 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,204 shares during the period. Arista Networks comprises 0.6% of First Business Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. First Business Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $6,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Arista Networks by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,237,635 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,313,229,000 after acquiring an additional 411,109 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 293.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 6,750,793 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $746,165,000 after purchasing an additional 5,034,022 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 320.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,457,263 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $713,721,000 after purchasing an additional 4,919,882 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Arista Networks by 294.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,136,864 shares of the technology company's stock worth $678,308,000 after purchasing an additional 4,579,622 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Arista Networks by 292.8% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,053,181 shares of the technology company's stock worth $674,627,000 after purchasing an additional 4,512,166 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Arista Networks from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Arista Networks from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group raised Arista Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arista Networks from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.47, for a total value of $9,477,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at $1,537,266.72. This trade represents a 86.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total value of $12,988,391.88. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 92,641 shares in the company, valued at $8,697,137.08. This trade represents a 59.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 491,289 shares of company stock worth $51,018,617 over the last 90 days. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arista Networks Stock Up 2.7 %

ANET stock opened at $87.83 on Thursday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.08 and a twelve month high of $133.57. The stock's 50 day moving average is $110.13 and its 200-day moving average is $102.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.76 billion, a PE ratio of 39.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks Company 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.

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