Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ:STX) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ:STX) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,794 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,177 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Seagate Technology were worth $3,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of STX. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Seagate Technology during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Seagate Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Seagate Technology by 2,407.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 351 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Seagate Technology during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Seagate Technology by 177.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 403 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Seagate Technology Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:STX opened at $101.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.94. Seagate Technology Holdings plc has a twelve month low of $76.87 and a twelve month high of $115.32. The company has a market capitalization of $21.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46 and a beta of 1.05.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.28. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 11.34% and a negative return on equity of 32.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.34) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 49.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Seagate Technology Holdings plc will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Seagate Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Seagate Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Yolanda Lee Conyers sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.10, for a total value of $72,075.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,567.40. This trade represents a 19.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ban Seng Teh sold 4,872 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $535,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,590. This represents a 32.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 201,820 shares of company stock valued at $21,892,856 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

STX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Seagate Technology from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Seagate Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Seagate Technology in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Northland Securities raised their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Seagate Technology from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $118.83.

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.