Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ:STX) Receives $118.89 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ:STX) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $118.89.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $105.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $115.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th.

Seagate Technology Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ STX opened at $123.23 on Friday. Seagate Technology has a twelve month low of $63.19 and a twelve month high of $124.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.51. The company has a market capitalization of $26.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.15. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 14.67% and a negative return on equity of 63.48%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 earnings per share. Seagate Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Seagate Technology will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Seagate Technology declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to purchase up to 21.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Seagate Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 25th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 25th. Seagate Technology’s payout ratio is currently 41.62%.

Insider Activity at Seagate Technology

In related news, CFO Gianluca Romano sold 26,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.58, for a total transaction of $3,153,025.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,477,681.56. This trade represents a 41.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William D. Mosley sold 70,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.47, for a total transaction of $7,662,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 485,677 shares in the company, valued at $53,167,061.19. The trade was a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 162,891 shares of company stock valued at $17,773,863 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Seagate Technology

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in Seagate Technology in the first quarter worth about $300,000. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Seagate Technology in the first quarter worth about $385,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in Seagate Technology by 6.2% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 4,314 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Seagate Technology by 77.4% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 17,351 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 7,569 shares during the period. Finally, Panoramic Capital LLC raised its position in Seagate Technology by 591.8% in the first quarter. Panoramic Capital LLC now owns 131,433 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $11,165,000 after acquiring an additional 112,433 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Seagate Technology

Seagate Technology Holdings plc provides data storage technology and solutions in Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, and internationally. It provides mass capacity storage products, including enterprise nearline hard disk drives (HDDs), enterprise nearline solid state drives (SSDs), enterprise nearline systems, video and image HDDs, and network-attached storage drives.