Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Purchased by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 242,349 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Western Digital worth $9,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.79.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of WDC stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $64.64. The company had a trading volume of 8,519,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,610,028. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $54.81 and its 200 day moving average is $53.09. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $80.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, 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 valued at $657,454 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.