StockNews.com Begins Coverage on VMware (NYSE:VMW)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of VMware (NYSE:VMW – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a strong-buy rating on the virtualization software provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on VMW. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of VMware from $131.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of VMware from $142.50 to $139.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, VMware currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $135.88.

VMware Stock Performance

NYSE VMW opened at $118.27 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $119.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.80. The stock has a market cap of $50.32 billion, a PE ratio of 38.40, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.72. VMware has a fifty-two week low of $91.53 and a fifty-two week high of $132.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.02, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at VMware

In other VMware news, EVP Jean Pierre Brulard sold 6,651 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $804,837.51. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 69,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,417,818.63. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 40.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of VMware

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of VMware by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,531 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of VMware by 3.0% during the second quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,023 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VMware by 3.0% during the second quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 3,386 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of VMware by 0.9% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,620 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of VMware by 3.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,076 shares of the virtualization software provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.85% of the company’s stock.

About VMware

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VMware, Inc engages in the provision of cloud infrastructure and business mobility. Its products include Software-Defined Data Center, Hybrid Cloud Computing, and End-User Computing. It supports modernizing data centers, integrating public clouds, empowering digital workspaces and transforming security.