19,485 Shares in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Purchased by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired 19,485 shares of Western Digital Corporation, valued at approximately $788,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Western Digital has experienced a strong quarterly performance, reporting earnings of $1.66 EPS and exceeding revenue expectations with $2.61 billion for the quarter, which shows a 30% year-over-year increase.
• The company's Board of Directors approved a $2.00 billion share buyback program aimed at repurchasing up to 11.7% of its shares, signaling confidence in the stock's value.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 19,485 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,124 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Western Digital by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $78.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 1.54. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $78.80.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 22.13% and a net margin of 14.13%. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.00.

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.

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