Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $19.38 Million Position in Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 228,071 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 78,399 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Seagate Technology worth $19,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Seagate Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Seagate Technology during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Seagate Technology in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Seagate Technology by 2,200.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Seagate Technology during the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Seagate Technology Stock Up 1.9%

Seagate Technology stock traded up $2.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.18. 2,868,540 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,243,835. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.26. Seagate Technology Holdings PLC has a 52 week low of $63.19 and a 52 week high of $152.16.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 17.49% and a negative return on equity of 105.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Seagate Technology announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to repurchase up to 21.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Seagate Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 25th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 25th. Seagate Technology's dividend payout ratio is 41.62%.

Insider Transactions at Seagate Technology

In other news, Director Stephanie Tilenius sold 2,693 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.04, for a total transaction of $344,811.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,244 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,567,721.76. This trade represents a 18.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Yolanda Lee Conyers sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.01, for a total transaction of $87,757.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $591,485.55. This represents a 12.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 393,791 shares of company stock valued at $47,582,998. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on STX shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $105.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho cut their price objective on Seagate Technology from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded Seagate Technology from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Seagate Technology from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.53.

Seagate Technology 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.