ING Groep NV Purchases 36,659 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV has increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 122.4%, acquiring an additional 36,659 shares, which brings its total ownership to 66,613 shares worth approximately $2.69 million.
• Western Digital reported a quarterly earnings of $1.66 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.48 and showing a revenue increase of 30% year-over-year.
• The company has also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and has approved a share buyback plan worth $2 billion to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock.

ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 122.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,613 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,659 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WDC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 52.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 9,974 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $5,834,000 after buying an additional 6,947 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 89,244 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,608,000 after acquiring an additional 5,711 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 242,349 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $9,798,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Western Digital by 7.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 674,874 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,285,000 after acquiring an additional 46,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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 increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, TD Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.74.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.9%

WDC opened at $75.84 on Wednesday. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $78.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The firm's revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors 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 payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors 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 reacquire up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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