Fifth Third Bancorp Has $606,000 Holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,998 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 2,937.5% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $58.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.50. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WDC. Barclays set a $50.00 target price on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BNP Paribas restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.