Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 357,176 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 9,526 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of NetScout Systems worth $7,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in NetScout Systems by 1,214.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,367 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NetScout Systems by 811.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,216 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in NetScout Systems in the 4th quarter worth $71,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,495 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems during the first quarter worth $216,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total value of $70,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 127,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,988,951.44. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael Szabados sold 7,500 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.77, for a total transaction of $170,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 28,489 shares in the company, valued at $648,694.53. This trade represents a 20.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,000 shares of company stock worth $324,660 in the last quarter. 3.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NetScout Systems Trading Down 0.7%

NTCT stock opened at $22.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.40. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.95 and a twelve month high of $27.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.27 and a beta of 0.65.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52. The business had revenue of $204.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. NetScout Systems had a negative net margin of 44.60% and a positive return on equity of 7.37%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetScout Systems Profile

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.