DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Sells 31,141 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main decreased its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 170,791 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 31,141 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Western Digital were worth $10,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Western Digital by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 27,666 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,652 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $993,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 74,957 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $4,470,000 after acquiring an additional 8,441 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,394 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 195,435 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $11,654,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock traded up $0.23 on Thursday, hitting $49.43. The company had a trading volume of 3,166,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,375,379. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $40.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.93. The stock has a market cap of $17.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Barclays set a $50.00 target price on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.15.

Western Digital 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.