Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Purchased by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,027 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 6,153 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2,937.5% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $59.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,255,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,492,236. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.69 and a 200-day moving average of $53.50.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 13.33%. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Western Digital's revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Summit Insights raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.79.

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.