Empowered Funds LLC Has $8.48 Million Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,569 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 53,320 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $8,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. CNB Bank bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $38,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $125.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Western Digital from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,828 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $136,697.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 29,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,223,358.96. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 48,405 shares of company stock worth $5,319,533. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of WDC opened at $153.97 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a PEG 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 $178.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.72 and a 200-day moving average of $87.86.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share 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 for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.28%.

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.