KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $29.89 Million in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 257,502 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $29,891,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.13% of NetApp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NTAP. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of NetApp by 2.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,261,170 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,267,357,000 after acquiring an additional 199,384 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NetApp by 8.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,985,673 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $738,280,000 after purchasing an additional 453,324 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in NetApp by 53.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,083,189 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $241,867,000 after buying an additional 729,394 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in NetApp by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,948,917 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $228,492,000 after buying an additional 397,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in NetApp by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,346,212 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $156,268,000 after buying an additional 113,360 shares during the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 451 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.79, for a total value of $52,672.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,402,063.95. The trade was a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Cesar Cernuda sold 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.99, for a total transaction of $2,529,780.00. Following the sale, the president now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,931 shares of company stock valued at $6,252,759 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

NetApp Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NTAP stock traded down $1.66 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $91.09. 2,640,236 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,760,829. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $111.07 and a 200 day moving average of $117.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. NetApp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $89.88 and a 1 year high of $135.45. The firm has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24.

NetApp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. NetApp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NTAP shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of NetApp from $135.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded NetApp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on NetApp from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Susquehanna downgraded NetApp from a "positive" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $155.00 to $130.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of NetApp to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NetApp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $129.07.

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.