Graham Capital Management L.P. Invests $1.15 Million in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,196 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,145,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. S.A. Mason LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.15.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.5%

WDC traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.99. The company had a trading volume of 4,951,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,389,415. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $40.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.52.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.