3,497 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Purchased by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased 3,497 shares of Western Digital Corporation, valued at approximately $224,000, marking a new investment in the company.
• Western Digital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, resulting in a yield of 0.3%, with a payout ratio of 7.77%.
• Equity analysts have upgraded their price targets for Western Digital, with some firms setting targets as high as $150.00 and issuing "buy" ratings.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,497 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 102.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in 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 grew its position in 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. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in 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. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $121.53 on Tuesday. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $137.40. The company has a market cap of $41.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.74.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at $45,148,052.40. The trade was a 1.43% 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. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Western Digital from $92.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Western Digital from $123.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $108.65.

About Western Digital

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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