Sterling Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NETGEAR, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) by 16,398.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,344 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,251 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in NETGEAR were worth $428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in NETGEAR by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 770,464 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,473,000 after purchasing an additional 184,863 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of NETGEAR by 126.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 675,209 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,818,000 after purchasing an additional 376,974 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of NETGEAR by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 325,055 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,059,000 after purchasing an additional 33,100 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in NETGEAR by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 170,281 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $4,746,000 after buying an additional 24,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in NETGEAR during the fourth quarter worth about $4,449,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other NETGEAR news, CEO Charles J. Prober sold 10,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.64, for a total value of $291,148.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 507,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,526,806.32. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Murray Bryan sold 3,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $92,044.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 193,032 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,617,325.44. This represents a 1.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on NTGR. Raymond James boosted their price target on NETGEAR from $22.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded NETGEAR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st.

NETGEAR Price Performance

NTGR stock opened at $22.11 on Friday. NETGEAR, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.48 and a 12 month high of $31.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $638.29 million, a PE ratio of 55.28 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.68.

NETGEAR (NASDAQ:NTGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The communications equipment provider reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.24). NETGEAR had a negative return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 1.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NETGEAR, Inc. will post -1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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.