Clearbridge Investments LLC Raises Stake in Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 344,222 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,638 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Arista Networks were worth $120,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Arista Networks by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,494,876 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,946,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,040 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,136,348 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,387,211,000 after buying an additional 55,312 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arista Networks in the first quarter worth about $881,848,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,195,733 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $769,560,000 after acquiring an additional 20,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Arista Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $521,767,000. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arista Networks

In related news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 50,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,437,796.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Arista Networks news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.28, for a total value of $684,560.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly Bodnar Battles sold 372 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.74, for a total value of $132,707.28. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $915,038.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,157 shares of company stock valued at $19,291,193 in the last ninety days. 3.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arista Networks Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Arista Networks stock opened at $381.72 on Wednesday. Arista Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.25 and a 12 month high of $395.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $347.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $322.12.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Arista Networks had a net margin of 39.01% and a return on equity of 30.50%. Arista Networks’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Analysts predict that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 7.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $320.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Arista Networks from $325.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $364.81.

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.