Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Sold by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund 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 SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WDC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 3.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,612,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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 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 $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% 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, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WDC. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Securities reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.95.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $52.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,153,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,405,644. The business's 50 day moving average is $41.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.74. The firm has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $81.55. 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 (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

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.