Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $15.84 Million Holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 391,660 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 834 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Western Digital worth $15,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WDC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $2,531,876,000 after buying an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $520,450,000 after buying an additional 823,656 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $352,572,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 881,088 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 478,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $66.14 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $55.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.15.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays set a $50.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Summit Insights raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.11.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.