Seagate Technology Holdings PLC $STX Stock: China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Position

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: China Universal Asset Management raised its Seagate stake by 63.5% to 11,037 shares valued at about $10.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.87% of STX.
• Strong quarterly results and higher dividend: Seagate reported $7.68 in EPS and $4.23 billion in revenue, exceeding expectations, with revenue up 61% year over year. The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.74 to $0.76 per share.
• Analysts remain positive but insiders sold shares: Seagate holds a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with a $1,000.88 average price target, although several firms lowered targets. The CEO and CFO sold shares to cover tax obligations related to equity awards.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX - Free Report) by 63.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,037 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 4,285 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Seagate Technology were worth $10,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STX. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 15.2% in the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 780 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Seagate Technology by 6.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,891 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $4,511,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Essential Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Seagate Technology during the third quarter valued at $921,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Seagate Technology during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Seagate Technology by 0.8% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 99,131 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $91,432,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Seagate Technology Price Performance

Seagate Technology stock opened at $700.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $803.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $686.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.28 billion, a PE ratio of 36.79 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Seagate Technology Holdings PLC has a 12-month low of $228.61 and a 12-month high of $1,145.00.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The data storage provider reported $7.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.44 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.15 billion. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 252.47%. The firm's revenue was up 61.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 35.79 EPS for the current year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 23rd. This is an increase from Seagate Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Seagate Technology's payout ratio is 15.97%.

Seagate Technology News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Seagate Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Results exceeded expectations: Fiscal Q1 revenue rose 61% year over year to $4.23 billion, while EPS of $7.68 topped the $7.45 consensus estimate. Data-center revenue increased 63%, and record free cash flow strengthened the earnings quality. STX Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure demand remains robust: Cloud and other data-center customers represented about 90% of shipped capacity. Nearline supply is largely committed through 2028 or 2030, while HAMR technology, favorable pricing and double-digit sequential growth are expected to support fiscal Q2 revenue of approximately $4.8 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $9.20. Seagate Technology Key Takeaways
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Wells Fargo maintained an overweight rating, while TD Cowen, Citigroup and other firms kept buy or overweight recommendations despite reducing price targets. Commentary comparing Seagate with Western Digital also favors STX because of its higher return on equity, lower forward P/E and record cash generation. Western Digital versus Seagate
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns improved: Seagate raised its quarterly dividend 2.7% to $0.76 per share and indicated that strong cash generation could support additional share repurchases. Seagate Dividend Increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and expectations are elevated: The earnings beat and AI outlook were largely anticipated, increasing the risk that further gains require continued execution and stronger-than-expected demand.
• Negative Sentiment: Growth concerns triggered selling: Investors focused on slower exabyte shipment growth and the possibility of margin deceleration, causing the stock to decline despite record results and upbeat guidance. Why Seagate Stock Is Falling
• Negative Sentiment: Price-target reductions reflect caution: Susquehanna cut its target to $765 and moved to neutral, while several other firms lowered targets even while retaining positive ratings. Summit Insights separately downgraded STX to hold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Gianluca Romano sold 49,984 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 70,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,634,952.96. This represents a 41.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO William Mosley sold 97,889 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $772.14, for a total value of $75,584,012.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 378,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $291,952,311.12. This represents a 20.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 466,812 shares of company stock worth $378,583,042 over the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $1,200.00 to $1,148.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $1,300.00 to $1,050.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $1,350.00 price target on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Seagate Technology from $1,095.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Seagate Technology from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Seagate Technology has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,000.88.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

Seagate Technology Holdings plc NASDAQ: STX is a data storage company that develops and manufactures mass-capacity storage products and solutions. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs) used in cloud data centers, enterprise systems, network-attached storage, video and imaging applications, and personal computers.

The company also provides storage-related services and solutions designed to help organizations store, manage, protect, and access large volumes of digital information.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.