33,615 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Acquired by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired 33,615 shares of Western Digital Corporation, valued at approximately $2.15 million, during the second quarter.
• Western Digital recently reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter and anticipates posting 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Institutional investors currently own 92.51% of Western Digital's stock, highlighting strong interest from hedge funds and asset management firms.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 33,615 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,151,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,080 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,395 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,835,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $125.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $43.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.77. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $98.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.07. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $137.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $123.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $103.65.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,687,602.84. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at $45,148,052.40. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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