Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Stock Falls 3.1% - Here's Why

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) fell 3.1% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $507.09 and last traded at $528.29. 4,341,013 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 4,553,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $545.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Seagate Technology in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Seagate Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,350.00 target price on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Summit Insights downgraded shares of Seagate Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Seagate Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,000.88.

Seagate Technology Stock Down 3.1%

The company's 50-day moving average price is $746.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $697.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market cap of $121.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75 and a beta of 2.16.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The data storage provider reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 37.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 23rd. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Seagate Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Seagate Technology's dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Seagate Technology

In other news, EVP John Morris sold 15,466 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $772.15, for a total transaction of $11,942,071.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,038,573.80. The trade was a 33.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Gianluca Romano sold 49,984 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 70,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,634,952.96. This trade represents a 41.40% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 439,747 shares of company stock worth $349,271,735. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Seagate Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 70.6% during the second quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 29 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 0.9% during the first quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,477 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 4.6% during the third quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 23.1% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, One River Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 50.0% in the third quarter. One River Asset Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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.