NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 347,650 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 11,617 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.48% of NetScout Systems worth $7,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 224,935.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,056,827 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $44,736,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055,913 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in NetScout Systems by 66.5% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 446,387 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,709,000 after purchasing an additional 178,269 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 102.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 276,463 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,013,000 after buying an additional 140,237 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 71.4% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 305,454 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,644,000 after buying an additional 127,200 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 32.0% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 495,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,766,000 after buying an additional 120,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NTCT stock opened at $22.49 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -3.84 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.81 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.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts predict that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other NetScout Systems news, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total value of $287,016.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,706,955.12. This represents a 14.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $844,661.83. The trade was a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock worth $512,321. 3.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.