Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $162.1579.

Several research firms recently weighed in on WDC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total value of $28,557.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,218,682.50. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,687,602.84. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $4,130,905 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 551.4% during the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 207.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $139.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $178.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $131.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.18.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. Analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.28%.

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.