Clearline Capital LP Lowers Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Clearline Capital LP lowered its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 139,193 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 21,539 shares during the period. Clearline Capital LP's holdings in Western Digital were worth $8,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WDC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,149 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $62,612,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.5 %

WDC traded down $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $44.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,960,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,361,805. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $81.55. The company has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50 day moving average is $40.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays set a $50.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.15.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital 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.