Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• Seagate shares jumped at the open, rising from a prior close of $501.62 to $546.24 and last trading at about $549.19.
• The company beat quarterly forecasts, reporting EPS of $7.68 versus $7.44 expected and revenue of $4.23 billion versus $4.15 billion; revenue rose 61% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $1,000.88.
• Seagate increased its quarterly dividend from $0.74 to $0.76 per share, equivalent to $3.04 annually and a yield of about 0.5%.

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $501.62, but opened at $546.24. Seagate Technology shares last traded at $549.1890, with a volume of 812,806 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Seagate Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Barclays increased their price target on Seagate Technology from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Seagate Technology in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Summit Insights downgraded Seagate Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Seagate Technology from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,000.88.

Seagate Technology Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $128.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $756.58 and a 200-day moving average of $695.40.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.44 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.15 billion. Seagate Technology had a return on equity of 252.47% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm's revenue was up 61.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 37.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 23rd. This is a positive change from Seagate Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Seagate Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Seagate Technology news, CEO William D. Mosley sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $622.82, for a total transaction of $4,185,350.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 346,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $215,562,984.56. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ban Teh sold 52,730 shares of Seagate Technology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $782.08, for a total value of $41,239,078.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,543,884.80. The trade was a 90.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 447,108 shares of company stock valued at $356,049,743 in the last 90 days. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seagate Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its holdings in Seagate Technology by 108.5% in the 3rd quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 1,228 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,133,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Seagate Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,424,000. Greenline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Seagate Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at $298,000. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in Seagate Technology by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 2,206 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Seagate Technology by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 45,746 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $42,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

Seagate Technology develops and supplies data-storage products and solutions for businesses and consumers. Its portfolio includes hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives, and storage systems designed for applications ranging from personal computing to large-scale data centers. The company's products support cloud and enterprise storage, network-attached storage, video surveillance, gaming, and other uses that require digital data to be stored and accessed. Seagate also offers data-management and storage services through its Lyve platform.

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