Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Holdings Increased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 14.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 621,230 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 77,529 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Western Digital worth $25,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Western Digital by 107.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $136,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,481 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,259,000. Highland Peak Capital LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 235.3% during the first quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC now owns 710,231 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $28,715,000 after acquiring an additional 498,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 1.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 478,728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $74.97 on Monday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $78.80. 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's fifty day simple moving average is $64.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.05. The company has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

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

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.

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