Barclays PLC Buys 12,637 Shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 289,100 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,637 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.40% of NetScout Systems worth $6,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NTCT. FMR LLC raised its stake in NetScout Systems by 32.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the technology company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the third quarter valued at about $298,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 65,971 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,422,000 after buying an additional 7,298 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in NetScout Systems by 45.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,498 shares of the technology company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in NetScout Systems by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 323,698 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,011,000 after acquiring an additional 18,244 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NetScout Systems Price Performance

Shares of NTCT stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.02. 455,230 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,061. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.10 and a fifty-two week high of $27.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.86. The company has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.59 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. NetScout Systems had a negative net margin of 50.90% and a positive return on equity of 6.76%. Sell-side analysts forecast that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NetScout Systems news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total value of $152,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 35,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $844,661.83. This represents a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $287,016.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,706,955.12. The trade was a 14.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

NetScout Systems Profile

NetScout Systems, Inc provides service assurance and cybersecurity solutions for protect digital business services against disruptions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers nGeniusONE management software that enables customers to predict, preempt, and resolve network and service delivery problems, as well as facilitate the optimization and capacity planning of their network infrastructures; and specialized platforms and analytic modules that enable its customers to analyze and troubleshoot traffic in radio access and Wi-Fi networks.