Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock Position Trimmed by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. cut its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 26.6%, reducing its holdings to 10,426 shares valued at approximately $667,000.
• Insider selling activity has been notable, with key executives selling over 49,730 shares worth nearly $3.92 million in the last 90 days.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with price targets ranging from $40.00 to $135.00, and a consensus rating indicating a "Moderate Buy".

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 26.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,426 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 3,772 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Western Digital by 34.1% during the first 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 in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 242.2% during 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 buying an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Western Digital by 91.2% during the 1st 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. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the sale, the insider owned 151,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,687,602.84. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WDC. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.84.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $118.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $40.75 billion, a PE ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.77. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $137.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.62 and a 200-day moving average of $67.80.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Western Digital Company 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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