NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) Stock Position Lifted by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,353,501 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,475 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.04% of NetScout Systems worth $202,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NTCT. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in NetScout Systems by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 36,726 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 1,995 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 32.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 23,217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in NetScout Systems by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 29,208 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 5,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP boosted its stake in NetScout Systems by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 23,599 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 8,736 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetScout Systems

In other NetScout Systems news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total transaction of $152,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 35,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,661.83. This trade represents a 15.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $287,016.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,361 shares in the company, valued at $1,706,955.12. This trade represents a 14.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321 in the last three months. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on NTCT shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded NetScout Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

NetScout Systems Stock Down 4.3 %

NTCT stock opened at $19.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.30 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.10 and a 52 week high of $27.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $22.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.98.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. NetScout Systems had a positive return on equity of 6.76% and a negative net margin of 50.90%. On average, analysts forecast that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About NetScout Systems

NetScout Systems, Inc provides service assurance and cybersecurity solutions for protect digital business services against disruptions in the United States, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers nGeniusONE management software that enables customers to predict, preempt, and resolve network and service delivery problems, as well as facilitate the optimization and capacity planning of their network infrastructures; and specialized platforms and analytic modules that enable its customers to analyze and troubleshoot traffic in radio access and Wi-Fi networks.