Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Here’s What Happened

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX)’s stock price was down 1.2% on Thursday. The company traded as low as $516.78 and last traded at $545.14. 3,571,235 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 22% from the average session volume of 4,554,593 shares. The stock had previously closed at $551.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Seagate Technology in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $1,300.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $865.00 to $820.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Seagate Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,000.88.

Seagate Technology Trading Down 1.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $125.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63 and a beta of 2.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $751.28 and its 200 day moving average is $696.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The data storage provider reported $7.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.44 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.15 billion. Seagate Technology had a return on equity of 252.47% and a net margin of 31.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 61.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 37.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 23rd. This is a positive change from Seagate Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Seagate Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Seagate Technology

In other Seagate Technology news, CFO Gianluca Romano sold 49,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $772.16, for a total value of $38,595,645.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,756 shares in the company, valued at $54,634,952.96. This trade represents a 41.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP John Morris sold 15,466 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $772.15, for a total value of $11,942,071.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,132 shares in the company, valued at $24,038,573.80. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 439,747 shares of company stock valued at $349,271,735. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Seagate Technology

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaGrep UK Ltd grew its holdings in Seagate Technology by 72.6% during the third quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd now owns 1,358 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 528,411 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $487,375,000 after acquiring an additional 11,405 shares during the period. Allianz SE increased its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 24,711.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz SE now owns 8,436 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $7,781,000 after acquiring an additional 8,402 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 39,317 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $36,264,000 after acquiring an additional 6,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Seagate Technology by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 2,395 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

Seagate Technology develops and supplies data-storage products and solutions for businesses and consumers. Its portfolio includes hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives, and storage systems designed for applications ranging from personal computing to large-scale data centers. The company’s products support cloud and enterprise storage, network-attached storage, video surveillance, gaming, and other uses that require digital data to be stored and accessed. Seagate also offers data-management and storage services through its Lyve platform.