Irving Tan Sells 11,379 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $49.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $40.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.58%.

Western Digital announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.15.

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.