Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given New $200.00 Price Target at Cantor Fitzgerald

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price boosted by Cantor Fitzgerald from $160.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WDC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Western Digital from $92.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Western Digital from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Western Digital to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.63.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $150.21 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.54. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $157.65. The company has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.77. 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 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 firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 5.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total value of $28,557.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,682.50. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 151,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 124.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 86.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% 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.