Sachem Head Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Sachem Head Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 937,900 shares during the quarter. Western Digital comprises 9.8% of Sachem Head Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Sachem Head Capital Management LP owned 0.85% of Western Digital worth $176,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sender Co & Partners Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Sender Co & Partners Inc. now owns 30,606 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 10,153 shares in the last quarter. Sora Investors LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 445,255 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $26,551,000 after acquiring an additional 45,255 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 121,610 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $7,252,000 after acquiring an additional 5,131 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $104,000. Finally, Rivermont Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Rivermont Capital Management LP now owns 210,045 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $12,525,000 after acquiring an additional 9,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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. StockNews.com began coverage on Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $49.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The stock's fifty day moving average is $40.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.67.

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

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in 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 an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Company 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.

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