Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Holdings Lifted by Deutsche Bank AG

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 lifted its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 107.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,742,481 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.97% of Western Digital worth $136,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WDC. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $68,950,000. Atalan Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $62,612,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $176,976,000 after buying an additional 937,900 shares in the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $55,456,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 23.7% during 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 worth $273,852,000 after buying an additional 881,088 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.74.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Western Digital stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $74.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,303,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,489,715. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $78.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.02 and a 200 day moving average of $54.10. The company has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during 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%. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.