Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 337,584 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,628 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $97,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Arista Networks by 872.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 107 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 3,625.0% in the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 149 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on ANET. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $297.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Arista Networks from $349.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Arista Networks from $340.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Arista Networks from $311.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.12.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In other news, Director Yvonne Wassenaar sold 223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.34, for a total transaction of $70,543.82. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $941,427.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Yvonne Wassenaar sold 223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.34, for a total value of $70,543.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,427.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.83, for a total transaction of $511,660.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,568,495.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 210,076 shares of company stock valued at $68,928,479 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.54% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks Stock Down 6.0 %

NYSE ANET traded down $20.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $325.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,594,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,435,691. The company has a market capitalization of $102.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.61, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.11. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.10 and a 1 year high of $376.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $330.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.11.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 37.64%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board 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.