Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Holdings in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Free Report) by 102.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 392,566 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 199,079 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.55% of NetScout Systems worth $8,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 316.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,513 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in NetScout Systems by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in 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. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,498 shares of the technology company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems in the third quarter valued at $216,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NTCT. StockNews.com raised shares of NetScout Systems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

NetScout Systems Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NetScout Systems stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.57. 394,584 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 535,936. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.10 and a 52-week high of $27.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.62 and a 200-day moving average of $21.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.68 and a beta of 0.64.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.25, for a total value of $72,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 130,352 shares in the company, valued at $3,161,036. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jean A. Bua sold 11,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.92, for a total transaction of $287,016.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 71,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,706,955.12. This represents a 14.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,499 shares of company stock valued at $512,321. Insiders own 3.71% of the company's stock.

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.