UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 881,088 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 1.32% of Western Digital worth $273,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $2,531,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $520,450,000 after purchasing an additional 823,656 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Western Digital by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,397,671 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $202,603,000 after purchasing an additional 478,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,980,047 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $177,700,000 after purchasing an additional 586,924 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, TD Securities lowered their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.95.

Western Digital Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.42. 1,649,276 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,399,342. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The company has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $41.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.78.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.58%.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.