Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 37,060 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA has reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 3.2%, holding 1,121,555 shares valued at approximately $45.34 million.
2.7%, currently trading at about $73.78 with a market capitalization of $25.74 billion.
• The company recently reported earnings exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter and an EPS of $1.66.

Primecap Management Co. CA lessened its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,121,555 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 37,060 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned 0.32% of Western Digital worth $45,344,000 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. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Western Digital by 34.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 242.2% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business'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 directly owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.1%

Western Digital stock traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $74.89. 1,756,634 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,976,417. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $64.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $78.80.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for 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 business's revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business 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. 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 payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Western Digital declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.