Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Bought by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,880 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 25,124 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $5,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company'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 value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Western Digital from $62.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, July 14th. 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.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.84.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $68.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.54. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $59.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.48. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $69.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 13.33%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

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.

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