Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 29.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,864 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,324 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,149 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $520,450,000 after buying an additional 823,656 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $352,572,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $273,852,000 after acquiring an additional 881,088 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,397,671 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $202,603,000 after acquiring an additional 478,269 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,564 shares of company stock worth $663,018 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $55.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.08. The stock has a market cap of $19.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20 and a beta of 1.49. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm’s revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. BNP Paribas reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.84.

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.