Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) shares gapped up prior to trading 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,350.00 target price on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,350.00 price target on Seagate Technology in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Summit Insights cut Seagate Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Seagate Technology from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Seagate Technology in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,000.88.

Seagate Technology Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $128.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34 and a beta of 2.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $756.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $695.40.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) 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 the consensus estimate of $7.44 by $0.24. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 252.47%. The business had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. Seagate Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 61.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 37.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 23rd. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Seagate Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Seagate Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.97%.

Insider Activity at Seagate Technology

In related news, EVP Ban Teh sold 52,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $782.08, for a total transaction of $41,239,078.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,543,884.80. The trade was a 90.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Morris sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $650.15, for a total value of $1,739,151.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,609,589.95. The trade was a 11.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 447,108 shares of company stock valued at $356,049,743. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Seagate Technology

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Seagate Technology by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,477 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Seagate Technology by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 319 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Seagate Technology by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, One River Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Seagate Technology by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. One River Asset Management LLC now owns 45 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.