Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Raised to $170.00 at Bank of America

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $145.00 to $170.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Wedbush lifted their price objective 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. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.63.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $150.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $157.65.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 5.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 31,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was 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 directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,736,003,000 after buying an additional 478,728 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,305,289 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $593,045,000 after buying an additional 186,030 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,535,972 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $354,247,000 after buying an additional 431,419 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 130.0% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $203,337,000 after buying an additional 2,842,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,735,296 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $239,022,000 after buying an additional 545,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.