Gene M. Zamiska Sells 1,729 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $57.02. The company had a trading volume of 6,534,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,448,137. The firm has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 1.49. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $81.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

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

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its board has approved a stock 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 buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.