Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Price Target Raised to $320.00

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $275.00 to $320.00 in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on STX. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on Seagate Technology from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Zacks Research raised Seagate Technology from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Benchmark raised their target price on Seagate Technology from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Seagate Technology from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Seagate Technology from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Seagate Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.45.

Seagate Technology Stock Performance

Shares of STX stock opened at $265.63 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $248.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.43. Seagate Technology has a 52-week low of $63.19 and a 52-week high of $297.88. The stock has a market cap of $56.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.59.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 24th. This is a positive change from Seagate Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Seagate Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Seagate Technology news, EVP Ban Seng Teh sold 6,000 shares of Seagate Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $1,620,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,251,070. The trade was a 33.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO William D. Mosley sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.03, for a total transaction of $5,420,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 445,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $120,789,398.04. This trade represents a 4.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,011 shares of company stock worth $39,835,990. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STX. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Seagate Technology by 16.7% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 198,282 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $16,844,000 after purchasing an additional 28,364 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 2.5% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 65,478 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,562,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,138 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,796,000 after acquiring an additional 3,053 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46,482 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $3,949,000 after acquiring an additional 6,506 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 54,711 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,648,000 after acquiring an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

Seagate Technology Holdings plc provides data storage technology and solutions in Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, and internationally. It provides mass capacity storage products, including enterprise nearline hard disk drives (HDDs), enterprise nearline solid state drives (SSDs), enterprise nearline systems, video and image HDDs, and network-attached storage drives.