Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Makes New $35.41 Million Investment in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP has acquired 875,743 shares of Western Digital Corporation, valued at approximately $35.4 million, representing about 0.25% ownership as per SEC filings.
• Western Digital recently announced a stock repurchase program of up to $2 billion, indicating confidence by the company's leadership in its undervalued shares.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.66 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue reaching $2.61 billion, a 30% year-over-year increase.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 875,743 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $35,406,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.25% of Western Digital as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position 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 worth $89,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,579 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,227,000 after buying an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,588 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,089,000. Finally, Aviva PLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 153.8% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 206,685 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $12,325,000 after purchasing an additional 125,251 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock traded down $2.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $73.78. 6,992,485 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,400,805. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $78.80. The company has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. 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, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.

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.