Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares Acquired by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 208.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,803,726 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,246,034 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $530,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 3rd quarter worth $1,417,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Arista Networks by 32.1% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,717 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,388 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $329,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,158 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,980,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ANET shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $114.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arista Networks news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.47, for a total transaction of $9,477,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,537,266.72. This trade represents a 86.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 138,351 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total transaction of $12,988,391.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 92,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,697,137.08. This trade represents a 59.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 491,001 shares of company stock worth $49,112,111. 3.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arista Networks Price Performance

NYSE:ANET opened at $81.70 on Thursday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.08 and a 1-year high of $133.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.84. The firm has a market cap of $103.04 billion, a PE ratio of 36.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.08.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 29.91% and a net margin of 40.72%. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.