USS Investment Management Ltd Trims Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,641 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 12,741 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 11,013 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 6.3% in 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 buying an additional 50,188 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 15,189 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 14,432 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 34,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $1.64 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,374,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,417,895. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 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 50 day simple moving average is $41.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors 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 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 firm'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 transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Benchmark raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.95.

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.