Gene M. Zamiska Sells 245 Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 245 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.01, for a total transaction of $14,212.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,297,428.04. This trade represents a 0.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.1%

WDC opened at $59.19 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.54. The company has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 1.49. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $80.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued 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. Western Digital had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.58%.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BNP Paribas reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.79.

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.