Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has reduced its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 15%, currently owning 27,850 shares valued at approximately $1.1 million.
• Western Digital's board has authorized a share buyback plan allowing the company to repurchase up to $2.00 billion in outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its value.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with an EPS of $1.66 against a consensus estimate of $1.48, and revenue of $2.61 billion, beating estimates as well.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 15.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,850 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 4,915 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Western Digital by 58.9% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 265,243 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $10,724,000 after buying an additional 98,352 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 18.3% in the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,867,877 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $75,518,000 after acquiring an additional 288,459 shares in the last quarter. AI Squared Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth $6,697,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 14.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 621,230 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $25,116,000 after acquiring an additional 77,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital 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 transaction of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $75.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.74, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.25. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $78.80.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. 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 firm earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.

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