Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Shares Down 8.1% After Insider Selling

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) shares traded down 8.1% during trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $555.00 and last traded at $557.06. Approximately 6,753,124 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average daily volume of 4,488,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $606.38.

Specifically, EVP John Morris sold 2,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.15, for a total transaction of $1,739,151.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,609,589.95. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO William D. Mosley sold 23,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.44, for a total transaction of $14,024,803.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 352,828 shares in the company, valued at $212,557,700.32. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In other news, CEO William D. Mosley sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $622.82, for a total value of $4,185,350.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 346,108 shares in the company, valued at $215,562,984.56. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $865.00 to $820.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Seagate Technology from $1,200.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Seagate Technology from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Susquehanna cut their price target on Seagate Technology from $925.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Seagate Technology from $1,000.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,000.88.

Key Stories Impacting Seagate Technology

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

• Positive Sentiment: Seagate reported fiscal Q1 revenue growth of 61%, beat analysts’ earnings and revenue estimates, and cited AI-driven demand, favorable pricing and increased adoption of its HAMR drives. The strong start raises expectations for continued growth, though sustaining momentum is a key question. Seagate Revenue Soars 61% in Q1: Can This Momentum Continue?
• Positive Sentiment: A reported $1.2 billion debt repayment, strong free cash flow and a higher quarterly dividend point to improved financial flexibility and greater shareholder returns. Seagate’s $1.2 Billion Debt Paydown: What Comes Next for Investors?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO William Mosley and EVP John Morris sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Planned sales can be less informative than discretionary trades, but the insider activity may draw investor attention. SEC filing for CEO share sale
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns and reduced analyst price targets may be limiting enthusiasm after the stock’s sharp recent decline. That leaves STX vulnerable if AI-related storage demand, pricing or execution falls short of elevated expectations. Seagate Just Dropped 30% in a Month. Is It Time to Sell, or Load Up?

Seagate Technology Stock Down 8.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $790.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $691.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26 and a beta of 2.16.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. Seagate Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 37.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This is a boost from Seagate Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 23rd. Seagate Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seagate Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 697.5% during the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 28,903 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $26,658,000 after acquiring an additional 25,279 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Seagate Technology by 3.8% in the third quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Seagate Technology by 0.9% in the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 47,530 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $43,839,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Clear Wave Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Seagate Technology by 185.3% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Wave Wealth Management LLC now owns 662 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Seagate Technology by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 170,689 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $161,399,000 after purchasing an additional 48,549 shares during the period. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.