Vidyadhara K. Gubbi Sells 3,947 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Key Points

• Vidyadhara K. Gubbi, an insider at Western Digital Corporation, sold 3,947 shares at an average price of $74.88, totaling approximately $295,551.36, reducing his position by 2.40%.
• Western Digital recently reported earnings of $1.66 per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue rising by 30% year-over-year to $2.61 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing a 0.5% yield, and plans to buy back $2 billion in shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 3,947 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.88, for a total transaction of $295,551.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 160,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,001,466.88. This represents a 2.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.2%

WDC stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.07. 5,298,604 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,667,890. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $65.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $26.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $78.80.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Western Digital declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WDC shares. Summit Insights upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.74.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 52.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 9,974 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $35,406,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 5.1% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,834,000 after buying an additional 6,947 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 89,244 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,608,000 after buying an additional 5,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.6% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 242,349 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $9,798,000 after buying an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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