Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 25,247 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 23.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,966 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,247 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Western Digital were worth $5,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $63.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.49. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $50.76 and a 200 day moving average of $52.94. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $80.38.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 13.33%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the firm'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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's 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 now owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Summit Insights upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.79.

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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