Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ:STX) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $112.64, but opened at $105.74. Seagate Technology shares last traded at $103.17, with a volume of 2,209,235 shares changing hands.

Specifically, SVP John Christopher Morris sold 1,131 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.90, for a total transaction of $126,558.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $804,672.90. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Wednesday. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.83.

Seagate Technology Trading Down 8.1 %

The company’s 50 day moving average is $105.04 and its 200-day moving average is $99.55. The company has a market capitalization of $21.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.22 and a beta of 1.04.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 5.11% and a negative return on equity of 8.41%. Seagate Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 49.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.34) EPS. Analysts predict that Seagate Technology Holdings plc will post 7.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from Seagate Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. Seagate Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 181.82%.

Institutional Trading of Seagate Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 3.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,753,076 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,303,274,000 after acquiring an additional 746,395 shares during the period. Delta Global Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Seagate Technology in the first quarter worth approximately $33,478,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Seagate Technology in the second quarter worth approximately $35,349,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 14.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,656,828 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $247,218,000 after acquiring an additional 337,464 shares during the period. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 22.0% in the second quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,755,278 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $181,268,000 after acquiring an additional 316,295 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.