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

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

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $55.45 on Monday. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.08. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,460 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Western Digital by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 74,848 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $4,463,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 46,595 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 11,013 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.