PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 71.6% in the first quarter, now holding 33,950 shares valued at $1,373,000, which makes it the company's 20th largest position.
• Several institutional investors, including Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC, have increased their holdings in Western Digital, with some boosting their stake by over 50%.
• Western Digital recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a current dividend yield of 0.5%, and initiated a share buyback plan authorizing up to $2.00 billion in repurchases.

PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 71.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,950 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 85,711 shares during the period. Western Digital accounts for approximately 0.5% of PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,579 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,588 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $6,089,000. Finally, Aviva PLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 153.8% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 206,685 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $12,325,000 after purchasing an additional 125,251 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.7%

WDC stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $74.97. 4,983,586 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,507,482. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $78.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 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 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The firm's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wedbush lifted their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.

Western Digital 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.