Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Purchased by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 106.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,103 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,647 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $183,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 123.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,028 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,802,000 after acquiring an additional 22,670 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Western Digital by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,562 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,745 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WDC stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $44.23. 3,067,843 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,308,232. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 1.39. The company's 50-day moving average price is $40.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.44.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday. Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.25.

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.