Rhumbline Advisers Raises Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 674,874 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 46,202 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of Western Digital worth $27,285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Western Digital by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 11,013 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $50,191,000 after purchasing an additional 50,188 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,930,000 after purchasing an additional 34,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,564 shares of company stock worth $663,018 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WDC. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays set a $50.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities lowered their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.84.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $55.45. 5,948,047 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,444,499. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.49. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $43.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

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.