Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd Acquires 4,140 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 82.8%, acquiring an additional 4,140 shares to total 9,140 shares worth $370,000.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Western Digital, with Barclays increasing its target from $50 to $80 and Rosenblatt Securities from $53 to $90, highlighting a generally positive outlook.
• Western Digital's board has initiated a $2.00 billion stock buyback plan, allowing the company to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock, a move signaling confidence in the company's valuation.

Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 82.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,140 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares during the period. Central Asset Investments & Management Holdings HK Ltd's holdings in Western Digital were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WDC. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Western Digital by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business'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 transaction 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. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on WDC shares. Barclays increased their target price on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark raised their price target on Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.74.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.4%

WDC opened at $74.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $78.80. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.02 and a 200 day moving average of $54.10.

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

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 payout ratio is 7.77%.

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.

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