Cheviot Value Management LLC Buys Shares of 7,884 Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Cheviot Value Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Western Digital Corporation, purchasing 7,884 shares valued at approximately $319,000 in the first quarter.
• Western Digital reported a 30% year-over-year revenue increase with quarterly earnings of $1.66 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company has authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program to buy back up to 11.7% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,884 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,950,000. Atalan Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,612,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP increased its position in Western Digital by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $176,976,000 after buying an additional 937,900 shares during the period. Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $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% in 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 worth $273,852,000 after buying an additional 881,088 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush boosted their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $74.34. 1,480,156 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,001,773. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $78.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $25.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.58.

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

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 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.