BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 29,796 Shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Free Report) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,659 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 29,796 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.11% of NetScout Systems worth $1,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NTCT. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,118,267 shares of the technology company's stock worth $89,202,000 after buying an additional 448,537 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 388,286 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,410,000 after buying an additional 224,925 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,480,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 102.9% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 392,566 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,503,000 after buying an additional 199,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 205.7% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 257,700 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,582,000 after buying an additional 173,400 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at NetScout Systems

In related news, COO Michael Szabados sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.77, for a total value of $170,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 28,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $648,694.53. This represents a 20.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NetScout Systems Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTCT traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.84. 239,562 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 540,564. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.10 and a 1-year high of $27.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $21.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.90 and a beta of 0.62.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52. NetScout Systems had a positive return on equity of 6.76% and a negative net margin of 50.90%. The company had revenue of $204.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. NetScout Systems's revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About NetScout Systems

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.