Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 107,903 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ has reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 35.2%, now holding 198,373 shares valued at approximately $8 million.
• Western Digital's stock price opened at $68.82 recently, with a 1-year range between $28.83 and $69.72, while it reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.36 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations.
• The company has initiated a $2.00 billion stock buyback program, indicating a belief that its stock is undervalued, and recently cut its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 35.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 198,373 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 107,903 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.06% of Western Digital worth $8,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WDC stock traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $68.82. The company had a trading volume of 7,878,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,758,687. The firm has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.54. The stock's 50-day moving average is $59.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.56. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $69.72.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 13.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Western Digital's payout ratio is 7.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WDC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.84.

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.