WINTON GROUP Ltd Purchases Shares of 48,695 NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT)

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in NetScout Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTCT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 48,695 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,055,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of NetScout Systems at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in NetScout Systems by 32.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of NetScout Systems by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,495 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 23,968 shares of the technology company's stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of NetScout Systems by 316.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,513 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in NetScout Systems by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,498 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NetScout Systems Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:NTCT traded up $0.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $21.30. 336,604 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 536,840. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $22.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.63 and a beta of 0.64. NetScout Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $17.10 and a 12-month high of $27.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a current ratio of 1.81.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. NetScout Systems had a negative net margin of 50.90% and a positive return on equity of 6.76%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that NetScout Systems, Inc. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at NetScout Systems

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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 71,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,706,955.12. This trade represents a 14.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael Szabados sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.47, for a total value of $152,555.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 35,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $844,661.83. This represents a 15.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,499 shares of company stock worth $512,321. Corporate insiders own 3.71% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 upped their price objective on NetScout Systems from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

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.