Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 121,610 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 5,131 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $7,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. S.A. Mason LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $49.83. 1,460,234 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,382,532. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

Western Digital announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.