Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $58,000 Investment in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 907 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $58,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 52.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 9,974 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 4.6% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 35,648 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 5.1% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,834,000 after acquiring an additional 6,947 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 617.0% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 125,971 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,093,000 after acquiring an additional 108,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 23.2% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 133,966 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,416,000 after acquiring an additional 25,247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC opened at $129.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.04. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $137.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $239,148.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at $2,388,460.80. The trade was a 9.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Western Digital to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Western Digital from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.84.

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.