57,678 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Bought by L & S Advisors Inc

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 57,678 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,691,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,736,003,000 after buying an additional 478,728 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,305,289 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $593,045,000 after purchasing an additional 186,030 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 130.0% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $203,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842,822 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $139,476,000 after buying an additional 52,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 107.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $136,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $157.16 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $178.45. The stock has a market cap of $53.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total transaction of $3,013,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,265,422.23. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total transaction of $28,557.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 27,425 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,682.50. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 60,186 shares of company stock valued at $6,213,015 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WDC. Mizuho upped their target price on Western Digital from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $148.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Western Digital to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Western Digital from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.74.

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.