Rivermont Capital Management LP Has $12.53 Million Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Rivermont Capital Management LP increased its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,045 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,068 shares during the quarter. Western Digital accounts for 4.7% of Rivermont Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Rivermont Capital Management LP owned 0.06% of Western Digital worth $12,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the 4th 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 lifted its position in Western Digital by 10.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $352,572,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Western Digital by 16.4% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 24.5% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.99. The stock had a trading volume of 4,951,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,389,415. The company's fifty day moving average is $40.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.59. 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 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.42.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management 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 given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of 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 objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays set a $50.00 price target on shares of Western Digital and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.15.

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.