LPL Financial LLC Trims Stock Position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 6.2% in the first quarter, now holding 122,213 shares worth approximately $4.94 million.
• Western Digital recently reported $1.66 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, and had a 30% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company has authorized a $2 billion share repurchase program, indicating confidence in its stock value amidst a dividend announcement of $0.10 per share.

LPL Financial LLC lessened its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,213 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 8,109 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $40,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Western Digital by 242.2% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were 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 $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total transaction of $426,827.22. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 154,679 shares in the company, valued at $11,795,820.54. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,518 shares of company stock valued at $831,479 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $76.07 on Thursday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $65.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.40. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $78.80. The company has a market capitalization of $26.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.58.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The firm 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 company earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital's revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.74.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WDC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.