Westpac Banking Corp Sells 4,605 Shares of Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX)

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its stake in Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX - Free Report) by 70.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,899 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 4,605 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Seagate Technology were worth $161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Seagate Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Seagate Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Seagate Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Seagate Technology in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 2,200.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Seagate Technology Price Performance

STX stock opened at $155.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.50. Seagate Technology Holdings PLC has a 1 year low of $63.19 and a 1 year high of $158.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $144.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $110.85.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Seagate Technology had a negative return on equity of 169.60% and a net margin of 16.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 29.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Seagate Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Seagate Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.54%.

Seagate Technology declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to repurchase up to 21.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on STX shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Seagate Technology from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BNP Paribas raised Seagate Technology from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Seagate Technology from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Seagate Technology from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Seagate Technology from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Seagate Technology presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.44.

Insider Transactions at Seagate Technology

In related news, CEO William D. Mosley sold 70,000 shares of Seagate Technology stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.47, for a total transaction of $7,662,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 485,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,167,061.19. The trade was a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ban Seng Teh sold 63,418 shares of Seagate Technology stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $7,927,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,658 shares in the company, valued at $1,832,250. This trade represents a 81.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 430,270 shares of company stock valued at $53,173,431. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

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.

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