Western Digital Corporation $WDC Holdings Trimmed by BLB&B Advisors LLC

BLB&B Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 2.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 262 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 102.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. CNB Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 178.3% in the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 668 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $239,148.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WDC. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Western Digital to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.84.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.3%

Western Digital stock opened at $138.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $108.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.75. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $145.68.

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. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

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.