1,529 Shares in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Bought by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,529 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $62,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WDC. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,579 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,365,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 156,001 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $9,302,000 after buying an additional 9,140 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 20,530 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,224,000 after purchasing an additional 8,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $23,852,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $74.97 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.57 and a 200-day moving average of $54.05. The company has a market capitalization of $26.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $78.80.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush boosted their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.74.

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.