Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $23.67 Million Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 238.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 369,844 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 260,426 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of Western Digital worth $23,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 2.0% in the second 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 period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in Western Digital by 130.0% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $203,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842,822 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $139,476,000 after buying an additional 52,140 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.74.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,265,422.23. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the sale, the insider owned 151,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,565 shares of company stock worth $5,558,681. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $152.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $178.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $128.54 and a 200-day moving average of $87.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly 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 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Western Digital’s dividend 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.