Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,853 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $237,000.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,531,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $62,612,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Transactions at Western Digital
In other news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
Western Digital Price Performance
Shares of WDC stock traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.74. 7,402,048 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,413,519. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The firm has a market cap of $18.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 1.42. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $42.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. Western Digital's revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Western Digital Cuts Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.58%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho dropped their target price on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $50.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.95.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WDC
Western Digital Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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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