Edge Capital Group LLC Invests $59.62 Million in F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV)

Edge Capital Group LLC bought a new position in F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 237,098 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,623,000. F5 accounts for about 3.2% of Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Edge Capital Group LLC owned about 0.41% of F5 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new stake in shares of F5 during the third quarter worth $4,726,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of F5 by 24.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 409,130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $90,090,000 after acquiring an additional 81,005 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of F5 by 457.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 31,375 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,899,000 after acquiring an additional 25,748 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of F5 by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 194,820 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $48,991,000 after acquiring an additional 7,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of F5 by 14.3% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 70,536 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $15,532,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.66% of the company’s stock.

F5 Stock Performance

F5 stock opened at $295.56 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.06. F5, Inc. has a 52 week low of $159.01 and a 52 week high of $313.00.

F5 announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, October 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the network technology company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FFIV has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded F5 from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on F5 from $246.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on F5 from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on F5 from $285.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on F5 from $246.00 to $296.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.00.

Insider Transactions at F5

In related news, CEO Francois Locoh-Donou sold 6,500 shares of F5 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.06, for a total transaction of $1,969,890.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,836,915.82. This trade represents a 4.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lyra Amber Schramm sold 253 shares of F5 stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.26, for a total value of $75,206.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,452. This trade represents a 55.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,574 shares of company stock worth $3,455,057. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

F5 Profile

F5, Inc provides multi-cloud application security and delivery solutions in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. The company’s distributed cloud services enable its customers to deploy, secure, and operate applications in any architecture, from on-premises to the public cloud.