Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Bought by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 54.5%, now owning approximately 0.13% of the company’s shares, totaling $18.4 million.
• Western Digital reported earnings of $1.66 per share, exceeding estimates, and showed a 30% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company also announced a $2 billion share repurchase program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 54.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 455,698 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 160,687 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.13% of Western Digital worth $18,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,950,000. Atalan Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,612,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Western Digital by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $176,976,000 after purchasing an additional 937,900 shares during the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,456,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company'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 transaction of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $76.55. The company had a trading volume of 8,789,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,140,905. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.08. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $78.80. The company has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.22 and a 200-day moving average of $53.90.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.