Atalan Capital Partners LP Takes $62.61 Million Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Atalan Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,050,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $62,612,000. Western Digital makes up 6.2% of Atalan Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Atalan Capital Partners LP owned approximately 0.30% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 3.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $520,450,000 after buying an additional 823,656 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Western Digital by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,397,671 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $202,603,000 after acquiring an additional 478,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,980,047 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $177,700,000 after acquiring an additional 586,924 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $44.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.46 and its 200-day moving average is $57.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The firm 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 revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 47.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Summit Insights upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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 raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.65.

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.