BNP Paribas Trims Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

BNP Paribas decreased its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 26.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,223 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 4,319 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Western Digital were worth $782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 86.9% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter worth $29,000. CNB Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 577 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Western Digital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $125.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Western Digital to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 1,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $272,272.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,090. This trade represents a 33.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roxanne Oulman sold 1,800 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.42, for a total transaction of $277,956.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,863 shares in the company, valued at $596,524.46. This represents a 31.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,369 shares of company stock worth $4,013,785. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of WDC stock opened at $187.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $188.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.22 and a 200 day moving average of $100.20. The stock has a market cap of $64.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.82.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 30.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 7.28%.

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.