SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. Purchases Shares of 9,168 Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

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

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,089 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,564 shares of company stock valued at $663,018. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.84.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.7%

WDC opened at $55.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.49. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. The firm 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 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. Western Digital's revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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 dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WDC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.