Sender Co & Partners Inc. grew its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,606 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,153 shares during the quarter. Western Digital makes up 1.7% of Sender Co & Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Sender Co & Partners Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Western Digital by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Western Digital by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas grew its position in Western Digital by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Western Digital Price Performance
WDC traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.63. 4,930,229 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,382,297. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.42. The business's 50-day moving average price is $40.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.42. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $81.55.
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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Western Digital Cuts Dividend
The business also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Western Digital's payout ratio is 7.58%.
Insider Activity at Western Digital
In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $64.15.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Western Digital
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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