Forsta AP Fonden Sells 5,600 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden has reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 7.8%, selling 5,600 shares in the 1st quarter, resulting in a total holding of 65,900 shares valued at approximately $2.66 million.
• Western Digital declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, which will be paid on September 18th, reflecting a 0.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 7.77%.
• The company's stock buyback program allows for the repurchase of $2 billion worth of shares, which is typically a sign that management believes the shares are undervalued.

Forsta AP Fonden lowered its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 5,600 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 107.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $136,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,481 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $68,950,000. Atalan Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $62,612,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP grew 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 valued at $176,976,000 after purchasing an additional 937,900 shares during the period. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $55,456,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of WDC opened at $74.64 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $65.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.10. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $78.80. The stock has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. 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 (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.74.

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.

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