SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. Takes $371,000 Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,168 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 4,038 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.2%

WDC stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $55.78. 3,608,734 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,443,910. The firm's 50-day moving average is $44.75 and its 200-day moving average is $54.03. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The company has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 1.49. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The business's revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

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

Western Digital declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WDC. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $50.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.