Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 379,979 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,658,000. Twinbeech Capital LP owned approximately 0.11% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,531,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $62,612,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital
In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms have recently weighed in on WDC. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.95.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Western Digital
Western Digital Stock Performance
Western Digital stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.18. 5,762,727 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,403,373. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.12. The firm has a market cap of $17.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. Western Digital's revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often 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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is 7.58%.
Western Digital Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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