Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $169.50 and last traded at $170.8460, with a volume of 133643 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $162.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $105.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital raised their price target on Western Digital from $92.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Western Digital to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.47.

Western Digital Stock Up 6.6%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.52, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 7.28%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, 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 sold 65,783 shares of company stock valued at $6,639,843 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 102.5% during the second 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 during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the second 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 during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 86.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.