BluePointe Capital Management LLC Sells 57,249 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

BluePointe Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 87.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,063 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 57,249 shares during the quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $520,450,000 after purchasing an additional 823,656 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,397,671 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $202,603,000 after purchasing an additional 478,269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Summit Insights upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Western Digital from $62.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays set a $50.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This 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 this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $66.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.66 and a 200-day moving average of $53.03. The company has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.54. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $80.09.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is 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.

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