AMF Tjanstepension AB Grows Position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB has increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 18.3%, owning approximately 0.54% of the company worth $75.52 million.
• Western Digital reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.66, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.48, with revenue increasing 30% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $0.10 quarterly dividend and initiated a share buyback program authorizing $2 billion in repurchases, which indicates management's belief that shares are undervalued.

AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 18.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,867,877 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 288,459 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned approximately 0.54% of Western Digital worth $75,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. AI Squared Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,697,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Western Digital by 14.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 621,230 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $25,116,000 after acquiring an additional 77,529 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter worth $249,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $136,222,000 after buying an additional 1,742,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at $1,259,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock traded up $0.82 on Tuesday, reaching $75.46. The stock had a trading volume of 2,983,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,979,521. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $78.80. The company has a market cap of $26.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $65.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.10.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors 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 is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Benchmark boosted their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush upped their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho increased their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.

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.