LSV Asset Management Boosts Holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 22.5% during the first quarter, owning about 1,177,960 shares, valued at $47,625,000.
• Analysts have upgraded Western Digital's stock ratings, with a consensus price target of $78.74 and a majority recommending a buy.
• Western Digital announced a $0.10 quarterly dividend and initiated a $2.00 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

LSV Asset Management grew its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 22.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,177,960 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 216,680 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.34% of Western Digital worth $47,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 26,059 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,105 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $788,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $62,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Western Digital by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 455,698 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $18,424,000 after buying an additional 160,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.9%

WDC stock traded down $1.45 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $75.84. 5,897,813 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,523,656. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $78.80. The firm's 50 day moving average is $63.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.00. The stock has a market cap of $26.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Western Digital declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities lowered their price target 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. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.74.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the firm's 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 approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.