Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of National Instruments (NASDAQ:NATI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.
According to Zacks, “National Instruments Corporation, or NI, is an American multinational company with international operation. It is a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software. Common applications include data acquisition, instrument control and machine vision. National Instruments has equipped engineers and scientists with tools that accelerate productivity, innovation and discovery. NI’s graphical system design approach to engineering provides an integrated software and hardware platform that speeds the development of any system needing measurement and control. The company’s long-term vision and focus on improving society through its technology ensures the success of its customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders. “
Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on NATI. Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on National Instruments in a report on Thursday, August 13th. They set a neutral rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna Bancshares reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of National Instruments in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a hold rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of National Instruments in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, BidaskClub downgraded shares of National Instruments from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $40.57.
Shares of NASDAQ NATI opened at $35.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 1.00. National Instruments has a 52-week low of $20.42 and a 52-week high of $47.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.65 and a current ratio of 3.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.29.
National Instruments (NASDAQ:NATI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The technology company reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $301.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $301.51 million. National Instruments had a net margin of 19.25% and a return on equity of 12.46%. As a group, analysts forecast that National Instruments will post 0.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. National Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.
In related news, CMO Carla Pineyro Sublett sold 5,563 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.88, for a total value of $199,600.44. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 31,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,132,946.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of National Instruments by 28.0% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,086,971 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $119,496,000 after purchasing an additional 675,454 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of National Instruments by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 860,729 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,318,000 after buying an additional 438,230 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of National Instruments by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 948,833 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $36,730,000 after buying an additional 219,315 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of National Instruments by 2,070.1% during the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 193,504 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,491,000 after buying an additional 184,587 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Instruments by 9.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,030,031 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,153,000 after acquiring an additional 183,688 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.60% of the company’s stock.
About National Instruments
National Instruments Corporation provides a software-centric platform and systems to engineers and scientists worldwide. Its programming environments software includes LabVIEW, a graphical application software package to visualize hardware configuration, measurement data, and debugging of application; LabWindows/CVI, an ANSI C integrated development environment and engineering toolbox with built-in libraries for measurement, analysis, and engineering UI design; and NI Measurement Studio, a suite of .NET tools designed for building engineering applications in Microsoft Visual Studio to acquire, analyze, and display measurement data.
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