Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Makes New Investment in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 188,152 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,220,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $1,155,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $351,000. Dendur Capital LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,457,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 71,103 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $4,240,000 after buying an additional 36,647 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,044,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.09. The stock had a trading volume of 4,607,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,317,326. The company has a market cap of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.39. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $40.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.28. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 47.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other 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 value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was 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. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.65.

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.