Norges Bank Invests $306.44 Million in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,639,904 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $306,440,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.30% of NetApp as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of NetApp by 53.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,083,189 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $241,867,000 after acquiring an additional 729,394 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in NetApp by 276.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 891,033 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $103,431,000 after purchasing an additional 654,626 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in NetApp during the 4th quarter valued at about $64,683,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NetApp by 8.2% in 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 buying an additional 453,324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 429,343 shares during the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NetApp stock traded up $1.65 on Tuesday, hitting $89.49. 2,838,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,857,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.06. NetApp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.40 and a 52 week high of $135.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24.

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NetApp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. NetApp's payout ratio is 38.52%.

Insider Transactions at NetApp

In related news, Director Anders Gustafsson acquired 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.00 per share, with a total value of $254,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 6,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $577,668. This trade represents a 78.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O'callahan sold 451 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,063.95. This represents a 3.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,627 shares of company stock valued at $5,498,573. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on NetApp from $135.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of NetApp from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of NetApp from $160.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of NetApp in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of NetApp from $132.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $129.07.

NetApp Company 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.