Czech National Bank Has $3.23 Million Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Czech National Bank increased its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,889 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,932 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted 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 worth $2,691,000 after buying an additional 11,013 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $50,191,000 after acquiring an additional 50,188 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.45. 5,948,047 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,434,266. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $43.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.49. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $81.55.

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 business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 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 0.72%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,564 shares of company stock valued at $663,018. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. TD Securities dropped their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $54.00) on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 23rd. 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.84.

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.