Arkadios Wealth Advisors Buys 6,105 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 30.6%, owning 26,059 shares valued at approximately $1,054,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Western Digital's CEO, Irving Tan, sold 11,379 shares at an average price of $48.19, decreasing his ownership by 1.84%, while insiders have sold a total of 13,353 shares worth $657,454 over the last ninety days.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Western Digital, with price targets ranging from $53.00 to $90.00, indicating potential for recovery in its stock price.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 30.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,059 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 6,105 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors' holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,950,000. Atalan Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $62,612,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $176,976,000 after acquiring an additional 937,900 shares in the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $55,456,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $75.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,897,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,523,656. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $78.80. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $62.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.84. 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 company has a market cap of $26.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.

About Western Digital

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.