Kintayl Capital LP Purchases 44,935 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Kintayl Capital LP raised its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,126 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 44,935 shares during the quarter. Western Digital makes up approximately 6.4% of Kintayl Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Kintayl Capital LP owned about 0.06% of Western Digital worth $8,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 125,880 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 25,124 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 242.2% in 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 period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 82,941 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,353,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 1.4% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 56,714 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,293,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 105,157 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $4,251,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $50.00 price objective 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.26.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, reaching $66.99. 2,439,433 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,607,646. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.54. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $75.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.01 and a 200-day moving average of $53.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 13.33%. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.