Ethic Inc. Trims Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has reduced its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 9.9%, now owning 32,788 shares valued at approximately $2.07 million, according to the latest SEC filing.
• Western Digital's share price targets have seen significant increases from various analysts, with Loop Capital raising its target from $92 to $150, indicating positive market sentiment.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, which reflects a 0.3% dividend yield, and the payout ratio is at 7.77%.

Ethic Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,788 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 3,611 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,075,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 102.5% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 178.3% in the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 668 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter worth $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Western Digital by 34.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter worth $40,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Benchmark increased their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Western Digital from $92.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on Western Digital from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Western Digital to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.84.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $239,148.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 31,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,388,460.80. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $129.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $137.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.04.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

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.

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