Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) Shares Acquired by Primecap Management Co. CA

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA has increased its stake in Seagate Technology Holdings PLC by 9.0% in the first quarter, now holding 830,455 shares valued at approximately $70.5 million.
• Seagate Technology's CEO, William D. Mosley, recently sold 20,000 shares for over $3 million, marking a 4.01% decrease in his ownership.
• Seagate has announced a $5.00 billion stock buyback plan to repurchase up to 21.6% of its outstanding shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 830,455 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 68,300 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.39% of Seagate Technology worth $70,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Seagate Technology by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,743,126 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,441,729,000 after buying an additional 769,009 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 16,530,152 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,426,717,000 after buying an additional 162,561 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,621,162 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,348,262,000 after buying an additional 5,640,443 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,761,534 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $238,348,000 after buying an additional 352,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Seagate Technology by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,655,699 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $142,903,000 after purchasing an additional 195,090 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jay L. Geldmacher sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.50, for a total transaction of $376,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,976. This trade represents a 87.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James Ci Lee sold 1,116 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.36, for a total transaction of $171,149.76. Following the sale, the insider owned 257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,413.52. The trade was a 81.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 428,546 shares of company stock valued at $52,912,056 in the last ninety days. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on STX. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "negative" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $128.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Seagate Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $151.44.

Seagate Technology Trading Up 1.6%

STX traded up $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $150.45. 1,901,625 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,019,640. The company has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.50. Seagate Technology Holdings PLC has a 52-week low of $63.19 and a 52-week high of $157.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.53.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.40 billion. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 16.15% and a negative return on equity of 169.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 29.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Seagate Technology announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to purchase up to 21.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Seagate Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Seagate Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.54%.

About Seagate Technology

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.