Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Bought by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 981.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,821 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,804 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 242.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Western Digital by 91.2% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,279 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $239,148.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. The trade was a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 3.6%

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $115.42 on Monday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $137.40. The firm has a market cap of $39.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.77. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $94.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.26.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

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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