KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Raises Stock Holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 126,223 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $5,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 242.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.3%

Western Digital stock opened at $68.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.56. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $69.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.56.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 20.58% and a net margin of 13.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.84.

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.