Western Digital Corporation $WDC Position Increased by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 118,888 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,913 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $7,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WDC. Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $231,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 86.9% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 30.5% during the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,990 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $645,000. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in Western Digital by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 110,757 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $7,087,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the business’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 value of $1,024,159.47. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at $13,687,602.84. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total transaction of $3,013,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,265,422.23. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 69,730 shares of company stock valued at $6,935,394 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.47.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.4%

WDC stock opened at $162.96 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $118.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.13. The company has a market capitalization of $55.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $167.50. 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 (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.28%.

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.