Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 5,648 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank has reduced its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 5.5%, selling 5,648 shares and now owning a total of 97,930 shares valued at approximately $3,959,000.
• Western Digital recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.66, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 30% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company has authorized a stock repurchase plan to buy back up to $2.00 billion of its shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,930 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 5,648 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $520,450,000 after purchasing an additional 823,656 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Western Digital by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,397,671 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $202,603,000 after purchasing an additional 478,269 shares in the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP increased its stake in Western Digital by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $176,976,000 after purchasing an additional 937,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd increased its stake in Western Digital by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,202,627 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $131,343,000 after purchasing an additional 50,756 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC opened at $78.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 1.54. The company's 50 day moving average is $61.69 and its 200 day moving average is $53.81. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $78.80.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) 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 22.13%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WDC. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.00.

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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