Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Sold by DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lessened its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 484.2% in the fourth quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 417,160 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $24,875,000 after purchasing an additional 345,755 shares in the last quarter. Collar Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $1,510,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Western Digital by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,431 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Western Digital by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Broad Bay Capital Management LP now owns 386,000 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $23,017,000 after purchasing an additional 32,300 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Western Digital by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,674 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC traded up $2.44 on Tuesday, reaching $49.01. The stock had a trading volume of 8,112,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,381,518. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $40.17 and a 200 day moving average of $56.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is 7.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities cut their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four equities 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.15.

Western Digital Company 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.