Insider Selling: Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Director Sells 1,800 Shares of Stock

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Director Roxanne Oulman sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.42, for a total transaction of $277,956.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $596,524.46. This represents a 31.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $157.74. 4,847,408 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,402,505. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $178.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.04. The firm has a market cap of $53.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.63, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 30,303 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 1.2% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 71,621 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,896,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 12.8% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,336 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.9% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 154,233 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.7% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,167 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Western Digital from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $105.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.16.

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.