Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Shares Down 8.2% – Should You Sell?

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) shares dropped 8.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $281.72 and last traded at $283.0990. Approximately 2,116,524 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 3,685,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $308.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on STX shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Seagate Technology from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $240.00 to $230.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $160.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.13.

Seagate Technology Stock Down 9.0%

The company has a market cap of $59.89 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.93.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Seagate Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 24th. Seagate Technology’s payout ratio is currently 38.00%.

Insider Transactions at Seagate Technology

In other news, EVP Ban Seng Teh sold 6,000 shares of Seagate Technology stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $1,620,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,251,070. This trade represents a 33.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephanie Tilenius sold 2,046 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.41, for a total transaction of $545,074.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,244 shares in the company, valued at $3,261,924.04. This represents a 14.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 132,555 shares of company stock valued at $36,743,207 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seagate Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Seagate Technology in the second quarter valued at $173,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Seagate Technology by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 18,422 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,808 shares during the period. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd lifted its position in Seagate Technology by 185.8% in the 2nd quarter. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd now owns 18,734 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,704,000 after purchasing an additional 12,178 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Seagate Technology in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,542,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 21.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 61,263 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $8,886,000 after purchasing an additional 10,847 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

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.