BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 140,808 Shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 848,202 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 140,808 shares during the period. Arista Networks makes up about 0.8% of BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $297,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Arista Networks by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 36,329 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,535,000 after purchasing an additional 6,133 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Arista Networks by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 51,301 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,082,000 after buying an additional 3,763 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Arista Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $1,405,000. M&G Plc purchased a new position in Arista Networks during the 1st quarter worth $3,238,000. Finally, Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arista Networks in the 4th quarter worth $662,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Marc Taxay sold 4,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.47, for a total transaction of $1,327,546.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 1,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.55, for a total transaction of $556,483.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 186,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,226,030. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Marc Taxay sold 4,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.47, for a total transaction of $1,327,546.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 128,296 shares of company stock worth $44,532,174. 3.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arista Networks Stock Performance

ANET stock traded up $6.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $353.38. 1,547,242 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,371,974. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.25 and a 52 week high of $376.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $343.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.74 billion, a PE ratio of 49.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arista Networks declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.20 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arista Networks from $340.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Arista Networks from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Arista Networks from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.38.

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.