ING Groep NV Buys 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 lifted its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 122.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Western Digital by 34.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 242.2% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of WDC traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.97. 4,983,586 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,507,482. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.15. 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 $26.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.

About Western Digital

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.