Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Purchased by Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 47.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,901 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,531,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $62,612,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $46.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $40.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.03.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.10 dividend. 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 0.86%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WDC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Summit Insights upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Western Digital from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.