Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Increases Stock Position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 24.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 654 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Old Port Advisors boosted its holdings in Arista Networks by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 955 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 21.5% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 215 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake 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 during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Arista Networks by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 694 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC boosted its position in Arista Networks by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 2,255 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on ANET shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $320.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Arista Networks from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $349.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research report on Friday, June 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.38.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

ANET traded down $4.16 on Monday, reaching $315.18. 2,640,656 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,500,337. The company has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.99, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $332.16 and its 200-day moving average is $298.32. Arista Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.25 and a twelve month high of $376.50.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.38. Arista Networks had a return on equity of 30.50% and a net margin of 39.01%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Arista Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arista Networks

In other news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of Arista Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.28, for a total transaction of $684,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 50,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,437,796.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.28, for a total value of $684,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 50,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,437,796.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Marc Taxay sold 628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.50, for a total transaction of $220,114.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,332 shares of company stock worth $68,767,803. 3.54% of the stock is owned by 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.