Man Group plc grew its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 360,274 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 86,580 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.10% of Western Digital worth $21,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. S.A. Mason LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have commented on WDC shares. TD Securities reduced their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Western Digital from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four 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 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.15.
Get Our Latest Report on Western Digital
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
Western Digital Stock Performance
NASDAQ WDC traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, reaching $50.63. 4,930,229 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,382,297. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.42. The firm has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The company's revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.58%.
Western Digital announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Western Digital Profile
(
Free Report)
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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