Headlands Technologies LLC Buys Shares of 6,152 Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC acquired 6,152 shares of Western Digital Corporation, valued at approximately $249,000, marking a new investment position in the data storage provider.
• Western Digital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a payout ratio of 7.77%, indicating a stable cash distribution to shareholders.
• The company has initiated a $2.00 billion stock buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares, suggesting the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,152 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Western Digital by 107.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $136,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $68,950,000. Atalan Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $62,612,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Western Digital by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $176,976,000 after acquiring an additional 937,900 shares during the period. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $55,456,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WDC. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Summit Insights upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.74.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of WDC traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.91. The company had a trading volume of 7,694,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,012,381. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $65.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.10. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The firm's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

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.