NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC decreased its stake in NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) by 26.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,144 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 15,250 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in NetApp were worth $5,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTAP. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in NetApp by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 4,873 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. boosted its position in shares of NetApp by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 13,256 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its stake in NetApp by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,976 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,506,000 after buying an additional 4,978 shares during the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp increased its position in NetApp by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 37,904 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 4,003 shares during the period. Finally, OV Management LLC lifted its stake in NetApp by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. OV Management LLC now owns 13,012 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after buying an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. 92.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetApp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTAP opened at $76.10 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $105.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $116.12. NetApp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.83 and a 52 week high of $135.45. The stock has a market cap of $15.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.31.

NetApp Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. NetApp’s payout ratio is 38.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NTAP. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of NetApp from $130.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays decreased 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 note on Friday, February 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised NetApp to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on NetApp from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on NetApp from $132.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NetApp has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 451 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $52,672.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 12,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,402,063.95. This trade represents a 3.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anders Gustafsson purchased 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.00 per share, with a total value of $254,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 6,348 shares in the company, valued at $577,668. The trade was a 78.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,627 shares of company stock worth $5,498,573 over the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.