Vanguard Group Inc. Has $7.62 Billion Stock Holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,291,490 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,203,386 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 8.41% of Arista Networks worth $7,624,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,136,348 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,387,211,000 after buying an additional 55,312 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 3,049,416 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $884,270,000 after buying an additional 25,196 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $586,051,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,807,494 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $425,683,000 after buying an additional 14,627 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Arista Networks by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,635,783 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $385,243,000 after buying an additional 376,478 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arista Networks Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ANET traded down $2.07 on Friday, hitting $330.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,354,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,940,961. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.10 and a 1-year high of $376.50. The stock has a market cap of $103.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $329.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.07.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 37.64% and a return on equity of 31.12%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANET has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arista Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $240.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 1,044 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.54, for a total value of $265,739.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 1,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.54, for a total transaction of $265,739.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Yvonne Wassenaar sold 223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 210,076 shares of company stock valued at $68,928,479. 3.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Arista Networks

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.