Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd Purchases New Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,000 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $716,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. S.A. Mason LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Benchmark upgraded shares of 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.95.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.7%

Western Digital stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.18. 5,762,727 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,403,373. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $41.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The company's revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Western Digital's payout ratio is 7.58%.

Western Digital announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.