Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Purchases 3,920 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 242,349 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. owned about 0.07% of Western Digital worth $9,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 2,937.5% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WDC. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. TD Securities reduced their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital 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 owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,040,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,566,785. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $80.38. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $54.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.01. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $22.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.54.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 20.58%. Western Digital's revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.58%.

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

Western Digital 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.