4,021 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Acquired by Sfmg LLC

Sfmg LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,021 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,736,003,000 after acquiring an additional 478,728 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,305,289 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $593,045,000 after purchasing an additional 186,030 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 130.0% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $203,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842,822 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $139,476,000 after purchasing an additional 52,140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 107.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $136,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $139.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $131.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $178.45.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 7.28%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total value of $3,013,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,265,422.23. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the transaction, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $4,130,905. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Western Digital from $170.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.16.

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.