Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) Shares Acquired by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 301.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,800 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,860 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $1,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $242,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Arista Networks by 395.8% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 18,593 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 14,843 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in Arista Networks by 292.7% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 602,541 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $66,599,000 after buying an additional 449,088 shares during the period. 5T Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Arista Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,046,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Arista Networks by 475.5% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 4,184 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 3,457 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.47% of the company’s stock.

Arista Networks Price Performance

Shares of ANET opened at $111.05 on Wednesday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $60.08 and a one year high of $133.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $113.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.32. The stock has a market cap of $139.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.39, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.09.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. Analysts anticipate that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on ANET. StockNews.com cut shares of Arista Networks from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $495.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $102.50 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Arista Networks from $97.50 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.29, for a total transaction of $8,663,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,405,171.04. 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jayshree Ullal sold 71,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.06, for a total transaction of $7,107,506.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 70,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,076,289.82. This represents a 50.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 337,320 shares of company stock worth $37,946,706. 3.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arista Networks Company 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.