Wellington Capital Management Inc. Purchases New Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Wellington Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 13,200 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $845,000. Western Digital makes up 1.2% of Wellington Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Western Digital by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 54,161 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,190,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Western Digital by 9.0% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 110,975 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,490,000 after acquiring an additional 9,141 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,560 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 8.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,933,278 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $118,574,000 after buying an additional 216,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 93.3% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 219,637 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $8,697,000 after purchasing an additional 106,008 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, Director Roxanne Oulman sold 1,800 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.42, for a total transaction of $277,956.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $596,524.46. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 1,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $272,272.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,090. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,369 shares of company stock worth $4,013,785. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Stock Down 5.8%

Western Digital stock opened at $176.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $60.29 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.12 and a 200 day moving average of $101.42. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $188.77.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 30.89%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $193.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $105.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.70.

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.