IFP Advisors Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 93.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,484 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 20,337 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Western Digital were worth $191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,282,393 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,196,484,000 after acquiring an additional 243,177 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $791,317,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in Western Digital by 8.5% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,535,972 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $354,247,000 after purchasing an additional 431,419 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $456,884,000 after purchasing an additional 384,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,804,907 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $456,737,000 after purchasing an additional 402,981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity at Western Digital
In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total value of $2,501,349.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 121,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,643,630.14. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $9,616,638.18. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 92,795 shares of company stock valued at $24,265,884. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Western Digital Trading Up 0.7%
WDC stock opened at $275.34 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $319.62. The stock has a market cap of $93.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $272.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.19.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The company's revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.
Western Digital Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.02%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WDC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Western Digital in a report on Friday, December 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $193.00 price objective for the company. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $265.58.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Western Digital
Trending Headlines about Western Digital
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About Western Digital
(
Free Report)
Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.
Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WDC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report).

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