Royce & Associates LP Cuts Stake in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

Royce & Associates LP cut its position in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,305 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 10,249 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.09% of NetScout Systems worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NTCT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 4.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,929,551 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,975,000 after buying an additional 81,154 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in NetScout Systems by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 163,272 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 36,075 shares in the last quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in NetScout Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,783,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 80,507 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 28,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the third quarter worth $940,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $72,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,161,036. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $287,016.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,706,955.12. The trade was a 14.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on NTCT shares. StockNews.com raised shares of NetScout Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

NetScout Systems Trading Down 0.8 %

NTCT opened at $21.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $27.89. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of -3.66 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.72 and a 200-day moving average of $21.87.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. NetScout Systems had a positive return on equity of 6.76% and a negative net margin of 50.90%. Equities research analysts predict that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About NetScout Systems

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.