Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Trims Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 15.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,709 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 6,758 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WDC. Barclays decreased their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.65.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.2 %

WDC traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.95. 9,028,595 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,332,196. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.65 and a 200 day moving average of $57.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.