Brandes Investment Partners LP Sells 884,330 Shares of NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR)

Brandes Investment Partners LP lessened its holdings in shares of NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,026,179 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after selling 884,330 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned about 10.52% of NETGEAR worth $84,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of NETGEAR by 66.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,856 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in NETGEAR in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

NETGEAR Price Performance

Shares of NETGEAR stock opened at $23.90 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $689.97 million, a P/E ratio of 59.75 and a beta of 0.72. NETGEAR, Inc. has a one year low of $10.48 and a one year high of $31.55.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.24) EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24). NETGEAR had a negative return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 1.83%. Sell-side analysts expect that NETGEAR, Inc. will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas H. Waechter sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total transaction of $60,840.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 61,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,859,726.70. The trade was a 3.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles J. Prober sold 10,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total value of $291,148.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 507,763 shares in the company, valued at $13,526,806.32. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded NETGEAR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James boosted their target price on NETGEAR from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th.

About NETGEAR

NETGEAR, Inc provides connectivity solutions the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, Africa; and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Connected Home, and NETGEAR for Business. The Connected Home segment offers Wi-Fi routers and home Wi-Fi mesh systems, Wi-Fi hotspots, digital displays, broadband modems, Wi-Fi gateways, Wi-Fi range extenders, powerline adapters, and Wi-Fi network adapters; and provides value-added service offerings, including security and privacy, technical support, and parental controls.