Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. Has $551,000 Position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 49.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,640 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 4,517 shares during the period. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $898,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 3.0% in the first quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 33,860 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $2,610,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 20.8% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,159 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 126,223 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,103,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ WDC traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $68.82. 7,878,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,696,784. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $69.72. The company's 50 day moving average price is $59.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on WDC shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $85.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.84.

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.