Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Has $1.49 Million Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP raised its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 47.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,901 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after buying an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $62,612,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.15.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.99. 4,951,315 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,388,638. The business's 50-day moving average price is $40.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.80. The company has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.