Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Shares Up 9.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• 9.4% surge: Seagate shares jumped about 9.4% intraday (from a $289.83 close toward roughly $317), trading on much lower-than-average volume.
• Analyst momentum: Multiple firms raised ratings and targets—Seagate has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $293.13, including notable boosts like Loop Capital to $465 and Benchmark to $325.
• Dividend hike and insider selling: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.74 (annualized $2.96, yield 0.9%), while insiders sold about 112,555 shares (~$31M) in the past three months and institutions own 92.87% of the stock.

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) shares shot up 9.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $303.22 and last traded at $317.07. 446,575 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,177,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on STX shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Seagate Technology from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $350.00 to $465.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Fox Advisors raised their price target on Seagate Technology from $245.00 to $270.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Benchmark raised their price target on Seagate Technology from $255.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Seagate Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $293.13.

Seagate Technology Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $273.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.60.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 24th. This is a positive change from Seagate Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Seagate Technology's payout ratio is presently 38.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Gianluca Romano sold 54,021 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.16, for a total value of $15,404,628.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,052,511.88. The trade was a 48.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ban Seng Teh sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $1,620,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 12,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,251,070. This trade represents a 33.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 112,555 shares of company stock valued at $31,032,007 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Seagate Technology by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,823 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Seagate Technology in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. City Center Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Seagate Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $246,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,736,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sherman Porfolios LLC bought a new stake in shares of Seagate Technology in the third quarter worth $1,123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

Seagate Technology NASDAQ: STX is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage products and systems. The firm's product portfolio includes traditional hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), hybrid storage devices and integrated storage systems aimed at enterprise, cloud, OEM and consumer markets. Seagate also provides services that support its hardware offerings, including data recovery and storage management solutions.

Seagate's products are used in a wide array of applications, from large-scale data centers and cloud infrastructure to desktop and portable consumer devices.

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.