Neo Ivy Capital Management Reduces Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Neo Ivy Capital Management reduced its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 54.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,836 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 5,706 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management's holdings in Western Digital were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WDC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $62,612,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 now directly owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note 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, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.95.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $52.55. The stock had a trading volume of 4,565,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,418,515. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The firm's 50 day moving average is $41.89 and its 200-day moving average is $54.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.58%.

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.