Deutsche Bank AG Acquires 1,742,481 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 107.1%, acquiring over 1.7 million additional shares to own approximately 0.97% of the company.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with $1.66 EPS, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.48 and showing a 30% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Western Digital announced a $2.00 billion share repurchase program, allowing the company to buy back up to 11.7% of its shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 107.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.97% of Western Digital worth $136,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,736,003,000 after purchasing an additional 478,728 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $176,976,000 after purchasing an additional 937,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 2,186,537 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $130,383,000 after purchasing an additional 362,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $76.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,950,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,954,517. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.58. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $65.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.40. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $78.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The firm's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $426,827.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 154,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,795,820.54. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,518 shares of company stock valued at $831,479. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. TD Securities reduced their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark increased their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays increased their target price on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.74.

About Western Digital

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.