Praxis Investment Management Inc. Takes $335,000 Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Praxis Investment Management Inc. has acquired a new position in Western Digital Corporation, purchasing 5,230 shares valued at approximately $335,000 during the second quarter.
• Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Western Digital by 130% in the first quarter, now holding over 5 million shares worth about $203 million.
• Analysts have notably raised their price targets for Western Digital stock, with estimates ranging from $135.00 to $160.00, reflecting heightened investor interest and confidence in the company.

Praxis Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,230 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 130.0% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $203,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842,822 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 107.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $136,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,897,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,406,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $22,849,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.65.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $126.20 on Friday. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $137.40. The stock has a market cap of $43.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.77. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.85.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WDC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.