D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Reduces Position in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its position in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,013,210 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 186,349 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 1.41% of NetScout Systems worth $21,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 1,214.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,367 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in NetScout Systems by 811.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,973 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,495 shares of the technology company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 45.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,498 shares of the technology company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in NetScout Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $221,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael Szabados sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.77, for a total transaction of $170,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 28,489 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $648,694.53. This trade represents a 20.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total transaction of $72,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 130,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,161,036. The trade was a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

NetScout Systems stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $23.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 333,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,059. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.10 and a 12-month high of $27.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.95 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.81. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $20.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.89.

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

NetScout Systems Company Profile

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.