Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 90.5%, now owning 37,526 shares valued at approximately $1.52 million.
• Western Digital reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.66, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.48, with a revenue of $2.61 billion, marking a 30% increase year-over-year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.56% and a payout ratio of 7.58%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 90.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,526 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 357,140 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $76.55. 8,789,013 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,140,905. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $62.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.90. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $78.80. The company has a market capitalization of $26.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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

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 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 is presently 7.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital 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.