Burren Capital Advisors Ltd Invests $1.23 Million in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Burren Capital Advisors Ltd has invested approximately $1.23 million in Western Digital Corporation, acquiring 30,360 shares, which constitutes about 4.4% of Burren's investment portfolio.
• Western Digital has reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.36, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite quarterly revenues being down 33.6% year-over-year.
• The company has authorized a $2 billion stock repurchase program, indicating confidence in its stock valuation, while also cutting its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share.

Burren Capital Advisors Ltd bought a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 30,360 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,227,000. Western Digital makes up 4.4% of Burren Capital Advisors Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 1.2% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 71,621 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,896,000 after buying an additional 853 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 6.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,303 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 7.6% during the first quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 100,611 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 7,136 shares in the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 49.5% during the first quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,640 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 4,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $898,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale 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 company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Western Digital stock traded up $1.62 on Tuesday, hitting $70.61. 8,786,399 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,924,932. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $60.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.54. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $71.31. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $62.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.74.

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.