Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Invests $351,000 in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,881 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WDC. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.15.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC traded up $0.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.53. 1,407,551 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,326,117. The company has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.65.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. Western Digital's revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

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.