Collar Capital Management LLC Invests $1.51 Million in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Collar Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 25,324 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,510,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,531,876,000 after buying an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $62,612,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen cut their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.15.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $44.29 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.74. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $81.55. The company has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 7.58%.

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.