Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Up 4.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 4.1% on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $78.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Western Digital traded as high as $59.07 and last traded at $59.74. Approximately 575,421 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 6,451,101 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.41.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays set a $50.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Summit Insights raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Western Digital from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's 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 owns 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 77.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,338 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter worth approximately $7,641,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth $649,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 1,882.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 185,889 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $7,515,000 after purchasing an additional 176,514 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Up 2.6%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.46. The company has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 1.49. 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is 7.58%.

Western Digital announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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