Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 162,045 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,663,000.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Western Digital by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. BNP Paribas grew its position in Western Digital by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Beta Wealth Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value 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 represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
Western Digital Trading Up 1.6%
Shares of WDC traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,015,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,393,531. 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 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.36. The stock has a market cap of $19.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 1.49.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors 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 given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is 7.58%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.95.
Read Our Latest Research Report on WDC
Western Digital Profile
(
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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