Twinbeech Capital LP Buys Shares of 379,979 Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 379,979 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $22,658,000. Twinbeech Capital LP owned 0.11% of Western Digital as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. S.A. Mason LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $49.99 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $81.55.

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

Western Digital announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,494 shares of company stock worth $636,747 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays set a $50.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.