Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Acquires 18,650 Shares of Seagate Technology Holdings PLC $STX

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. bought a new stake in shares of Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 18,650 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,202,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of STX. Signature Equity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 383.3% in the third quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 29 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in Seagate Technology by 70.6% in the second quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 29 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Seagate Technology by 23.1% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. WealthCollab LLC lifted its position in Seagate Technology by 27.4% during the first quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 93 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Seagate Technology during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 92.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STX shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $1,200.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $925.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $865.00 to $820.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Seagate Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Seagate Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,000.88.

Seagate Technology Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of STX opened at $606.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.82. Seagate Technology Holdings PLC has a 52-week low of $228.61 and a 52-week high of $1,145.00. The firm has a market cap of $139.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85 and a beta of 2.16. The business’s fifty day moving average is $790.20 and its 200-day moving average is $691.26.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The data storage provider reported $7.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.44 by $0.24. Seagate Technology had a return on equity of 252.47% and a net margin of 31.86%. 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 company earned $2.61 EPS. Seagate Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 37.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Seagate Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 23rd. Seagate Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Key Headlines Impacting Seagate Technology

Here are the key news stories impacting Seagate Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seagate’s reported $1.2 billion debt paydown, surging free cash flow and higher dividend point to improved financial flexibility and greater capacity for shareholder returns. Seagate’s $1.2 Billion Debt Paydown: What Comes Next for Investors?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts cited cloud-storage demand, pricing and the ramp-up of Seagate’s HAMR technology as drivers of an improving fiscal second-quarter outlook, supporting expectations for revenue and earnings growth. Execution remains important. Seagate Q2 Outlook Signals Stronger Growth as HAMR Ramp Accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: A rebound in chip stocks and technology shares offered a supportive backdrop for STX and helped accompany its rally. Why is Seagate Stock Rallying Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO William D. Mosley and EVP John Morris reported share sales. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans; Mosley continued to hold a substantial stake. Such planned sales may be less informative than discretionary transactions, though investors may still monitor insider activity. SEC filing for CEO share sale
• Negative Sentiment: Despite stronger operating results, STX had fallen sharply over the prior month. Commentary flags its premium valuation and execution risks as concerns, leaving the stock vulnerable if growth expectations disappoint. STX Falls as Risks Test AI Storage Momentum

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Morris sold 15,466 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $772.15, for a total value of $11,942,071.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,038,573.80. This represents a 33.19% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO William Mosley sold 97,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $772.14, for a total transaction of $75,584,012.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 378,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,952,311.12. The trade was a 20.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 469,319 shares of company stock worth $373,883,846. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ: STX) is a data storage company that develops and manufactures mass-capacity storage products and solutions. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs) used in cloud data centers, enterprise systems, network-attached storage, video and imaging applications, and personal computers.

The company also provides storage-related services and solutions designed to help organizations store, manage, protect, and access large volumes of digital information.