Note: The financial data in this article reflects information reported in early February 2020, sourced from SEC filings and analyst reports available at that time. This content is provided for historical reference and informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice.
Institutional Investors Add VMware Positions
SG Americas Securities LLC initiated a new stake in VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) during the fourth quarter, according to the firm’s most recent Form 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,600 shares of the virtualization software provider, valued at approximately $1,002,000 at the time of reporting.
Several other institutional investors also adjusted their VMware positions around the same period:
- Wellcome Trust Ltd (as trustee of the Wellcome Trust) acquired a new position in VMware in the third quarter, valued at approximately $108,043,000.
- First Trust Advisors LP grew its VMware holdings by 112.9% in the third quarter, bringing its total to 1,264,299 shares valued at $189,721,000 after purchasing an additional 670,437 shares.
- BlackRock Inc. increased its position by 7.7% in the second quarter, reaching 4,444,800 shares valued at $743,215,000 after buying an additional 319,201 shares.
- Johanson Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings by 15,057.2% in the fourth quarter, owning 222,356 shares valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 220,889 shares.
- Trinity Street Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in the fourth quarter valued at $32,551,000.
At the time of reporting, institutional investors collectively owned approximately 16.92% of VMware’s outstanding stock.
VMware Stock Price and Key Metrics (as of Early February 2020)
VMware shares opened at $156.27 on the trading day referenced in the original filing. Key technical and valuation metrics at that time included:
- 50-day moving average: $151.52
- 200-day moving average: $154.43
- 52-week low: $128.69
- 52-week high: $206.80
- Market capitalization: $64.06 billion
- Price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio: 9.92
- PEG ratio: 2.24
- Beta: 0.84
- Debt-to-equity ratio: 0.63
- Current ratio: 0.58
- Quick ratio: 0.58
Recent Quarterly Earnings
VMware last reported quarterly earnings on November 26, 2019. Key results included:
- EPS (reported): $1.49, beating the Zacks consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.06.
- Revenue: $2.46 billion, above the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion.
- Year-over-year revenue growth: 11.6%.
- Net margin: 67.21%.
- Return on equity: 61.67%.
- Prior year EPS (same quarter): $1.56.
Sell-side analysts, as a group, expected VMware to post $4.83 earnings per share for the full fiscal year at that time.
Analyst Ratings and Price Targets
Multiple brokerages published research notes on VMware in the months leading up to this report:
- Stifel Nicolaus raised its price target from $150 to $178 with a “Hold” rating (November 27, 2019).
- Royal Bank of Canada raised its target from $190 to $200 with an “Outperform” rating (November 27, 2019).
- BMO Capital Markets raised its target from $160 to $192 with an “Outperform” rating (November 27, 2019).
- Piper Jaffray initiated coverage with an “Overweight” rating and a $170 target (December 10, 2019).
- ValuEngine downgraded VMware from “Buy” to “Hold” (December 30, 2019).
At the time of reporting, the aggregate analyst consensus stood at “Buy,” with 2 sell ratings, 8 hold ratings, and 16 buy ratings. The consensus price target was $179.33.
Insider Transactions
Two notable insider sales were reported in the period covered:
- Zane Rowe (CFO) sold 6,509 shares on December 6, 2019, at an average price of $148.40 per share, for a total of $965,935.60. Following the sale, Rowe directly held 121,136 shares valued at approximately $17,976,582.
- Maurizio Carli (EVP) sold 2,075 shares on December 12, 2019, at an average price of $154.20 per share, for a total of $319,965. Following the transaction, Carli held 54,375 shares valued at approximately $8,384,625.
These transactions were disclosed in documents filed with the SEC. At the time of reporting, corporate insiders collectively owned approximately 28.80% of VMware’s outstanding stock.
About VMware, Inc.
VMware is a leading enterprise software company specializing in virtualization and cloud infrastructure. Its product portfolio spans several major categories:
- Compute virtualization: VMware vSphere is VMware’s flagship data center platform, enabling organizations to run a hypervisor—a software layer that abstracts and manages underlying hardware—to deliver flexible, efficient compute virtualization across physical servers.
- Hybrid and multi-cloud: VMware offers cloud management products designed to support workloads across on-premises infrastructure and multiple public cloud providers, with tools for automated operations, programmable provisioning, and application monitoring.
- Networking and security: VMware’s networking portfolio, anchored by NSX, provides software-defined networking and micro-segmentation capabilities for modern data centers.
- Digital workspaces: Products such as VMware Workspace ONE enable organizations to deliver and manage applications and devices across distributed workforces.
VMware operates in the United States and internationally, serving enterprises across industries that rely on its platform to modernize IT infrastructure, reduce hardware dependency, and accelerate cloud adoption.
Original source data attributed to rivertonroll.com. All financial figures reflect data available as of the original publication date of February 10, 2020.