Aberdeen Group plc Has $14.71 Million Stock Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Western Digital by 4.7% to approximately $14.71 million after purchasing additional shares during the 2nd quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have a generally positive outlook on Western Digital, with several firms raising their price targets and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Western Digital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equating to an annualized $0.40 and a yield of 0.4%.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,917 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,280 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.07% of Western Digital worth $14,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 91.2% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,279 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Western Digital from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Wedbush boosted their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.84.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $113.13 on Wednesday. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $96.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.12. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $137.40. The firm has a market cap of $38.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.77.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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