Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Makes New $304,000 Investment in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,104 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,531,876,000 after buying an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 10.4% in the fourth 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. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Western Digital by 16.4% in the fourth 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. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,980,047 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $177,700,000 after purchasing an additional 586,924 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Western Digital stock traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $50.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,930,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,382,297. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $40.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.42. The company has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.42.

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 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 business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The business's revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on WDC shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.15.

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.