Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 16,030 Shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 336,033 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 16,030 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of NetScout Systems worth $7,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 34,572.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 14,909 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 14,866 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NetScout Systems by 5.8% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,822 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 28.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 24,939 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 5,460 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 134.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 16,772 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 9,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,230,849 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $201,602,000 after buying an additional 223,975 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.32, for a total transaction of $138,580.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 42,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $905,865.48. This trade represents a 13.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company’s stock.

NetScout Systems Trading Down 2.4 %

NetScout Systems stock opened at $21.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.52 and a beta of 0.58. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $17.10 and a fifty-two week high of $24.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded NetScout Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of NetScout Systems in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

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.