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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 122.4% during the 1st quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 66,613 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,693,000 after buying an additional 36,659 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,523 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $319,000. Banco Santander S.A. bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 41,972 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,697,000 after buying an additional 10,786 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Summit Insights upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This trade 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 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 currently owned by insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.97. The company had a trading volume of 4,983,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,507,482. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.25. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Western Digital announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.