29,969 Shares in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Bought by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 29,969 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,322,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ANET. DSG Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks during the fourth quarter worth $5,984,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 58,093 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,501,000 after buying an additional 7,329 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its position in Arista Networks by 319.0% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 28,368 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,136,000 after acquiring an additional 21,597 shares in the last quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC raised its position in Arista Networks by 327.6% during the fourth quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 9,745 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 7,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unified Investment Management purchased a new position in Arista Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $630,000. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $97.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Arista Networks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $89.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.20.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In related news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.55, for a total value of $620,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 139,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,840,249.20. This represents a 5.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 1,492 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $102,187.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $512,305.20. This trade represents a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 161,690 shares of company stock valued at $14,525,085 in the last quarter. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arista Networks Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of ANET opened at $86.18 on Monday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.43 and a twelve month high of $133.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.85.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.72% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business’s revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 6th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.