NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) to Issue $0.52 Quarterly Dividend

NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be given a dividend of 0.52 per share by the data storage provider on Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th.

NetApp has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. NetApp has a dividend payout ratio of 24.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect NetApp to earn $8.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.3%.

NetApp Stock Down 1.3%

NTAP stock opened at $180.77 on Thursday. NetApp has a one year low of $93.69 and a one year high of $209.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.47 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $177.45 and a 200-day moving average of $139.96.

NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 2nd. The data storage provider reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.46. NetApp had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 117.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. NetApp has set its FY 2027 guidance at 9.730-10.030 EPS and its Q2 2027 guidance at 2.540-2.640 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that NetApp will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NetApp

In related news, President Cesar Cernuda sold 2,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.48, for a total value of $533,283.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 46,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,514,454.40. This trade represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Elizabeth M. O’callahan sold 1,000 shares of NetApp stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.82, for a total value of $193,820.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 30,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,872,164.54. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 55,072 shares of company stock worth $8,719,520 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NetApp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NetApp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $458,060,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NetApp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,869,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in NetApp by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 262,732 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,136,000 after buying an additional 135,715 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in NetApp by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 180,917 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $19,374,000 after buying an additional 21,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its position in NetApp by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 97,086 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $10,397,000 after buying an additional 17,520 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.17% of the company’s stock.

NetApp Company Profile

NetApp, Inc (NASDAQ: NTAP) is a data management and storage company that delivers hybrid cloud data services for applications and data. Founded in 1992 as Network Appliance and rebranded as NetApp in 2008, the company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. NetApp’s offering focuses on enabling organizations to store, manage, protect and move data across on-premises environments and major public clouds.

The company’s product portfolio centers on the ONTAP data management software and a range of storage systems and services built around it.