ARS Investment Partners LLC Acquires New Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

ARS Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 505,283 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,333,000. Western Digital comprises approximately 2.4% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. ARS Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.14% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 116,812 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 125,880 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,089,000 after buying an additional 25,124 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 48.3% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,209 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in Western Digital by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 26,683 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 2,460 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in Western Digital by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 126,223 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Down 5.9%

WDC opened at $152.86 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $128.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.39. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $178.45. The company has a market cap of $52.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 7.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Western Digital from $125.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays increased their price target on Western Digital from $105.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.74.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total transaction of $3,013,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 645,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,265,422.23. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,565 shares of company stock worth $5,558,681. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Western Digital

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.