Two Sigma Advisers LP Trims Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Two Sigma Advisers LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,419,200 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 1,219,600 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.41% of Western Digital worth $84,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 11,013 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $50,191,000 after acquiring an additional 50,188 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,930,000 after purchasing an additional 34,579 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded down $1.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $49.49. The stock had a trading volume of 7,278,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,394,722. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $81.55. 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $41.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.34.

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, 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 in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The business's revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given 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 0.81%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.15.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company 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.