Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Hits New 52-Week High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $155.52 and last traded at $152.68, with a volume of 6186372 shares. The stock had previously closed at $150.46.

The data storage provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Seagate Technology had a negative return on equity of 145.16% and a net margin of 16.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS.

Seagate Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Seagate Technology’s payout ratio is 41.62%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on STX shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Seagate Technology from $85.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Seagate Technology in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Susquehanna increased their price target on Seagate Technology from $68.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “negative” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Seagate Technology from $167.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Seagate Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Seagate Technology news, CEO William D. Mosley sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.66, for a total transaction of $2,893,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 498,710 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,143,388.60. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ban Seng Teh sold 1,725 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.00, for a total value of $248,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,735,488. This trade represents a 12.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 395,516 shares of company stock valued at $47,831,398. 0.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seagate Technology

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in Seagate Technology by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 20,270 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,867,000 after purchasing an additional 2,851 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 5,100 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Seagate Technology in the 2nd quarter valued at about $220,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Seagate Technology in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,955,000. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 112,092 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $16,178,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Seagate Technology Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $31.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $136.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.78.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

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.