Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Trading Down 5.7% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Seagate Technology shares fell 5.7% in Wednesday trading, with the stock dropping from a prior close of $878.31 to as low as $788.97 before last trading near $828.30.
• Analysts remain broadly upbeat on the stock despite the decline: 22 analysts rate Seagate a Buy and five rate it Hold, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $898.52.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share. However, insider selling has been notable, with executives selling shares over the past 90 days.

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) fell 5.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $788.97 and last traded at $828.30. Approximately 4,702,252 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 4,248,578 shares. The stock had previously closed at $878.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Seagate Technology from $615.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $500.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Seagate Technology from $1,150.00 to $1,240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $530.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, China Renaissance boosted their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $802.00 to $983.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $898.52.

Seagate Technology Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $185.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.59 and a beta of 2.04. The stock's fifty day moving average is $886.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $581.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.16.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The data storage provider reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.51 by $0.59. The firm had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.96 billion. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 1,005.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 44.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Seagate Technology has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 4.800-5.200 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Seagate Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th were given a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 24th. Seagate Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ban Seng Teh sold 989 shares of Seagate Technology stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $880.19, for a total transaction of $870,507.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,776,015.10. The trade was a 18.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Gianluca Romano sold 903 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $880.19, for a total transaction of $794,811.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,724,943.40. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,069 shares of company stock worth $126,191,753. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seagate Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STX. Walker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Seagate Technology in the second quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Ballast Inc. acquired a new stake in Seagate Technology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Seagate Technology in the 2nd quarter valued at $354,000. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Seagate Technology by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Taylor & Morgan Wealth Management LLC now owns 603 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Nolet Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Seagate Technology in the 2nd quarter valued at $293,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company's stock.

About Seagate Technology

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.

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