Key Points
- Insider sale: Cynthia Tregillis sold 2,801 shares at an average price of $160.57 for about $449,757, reducing her stake by 1.90% to 144,596 shares.
- Dividend increase: Western Digital raised its quarterly dividend from $0.10 to $0.125 (annualized $0.50), with an ex-dividend date of December 4 and a yield of roughly 0.3%.
- Market and analyst outlook: WDC trades near $155.59 with a $53.2B market cap, and analysts have raised targets (up to $200) resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a $163.21 price target.
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 2,801 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.57, for a total transaction of $449,756.57. Following the sale, the insider owned 144,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,217,779.72. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.
Western Digital Stock Performance
NASDAQ:WDC opened at $155.59 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.39. The stock has a market cap of $53.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.82. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $178.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 30.89% and a net margin of 21.37%. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.28%.
Institutional Trading of Western Digital
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $791,317,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $220,680,000. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 4,923.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $409,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339,225 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $203,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842,822 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WDC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.21.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Western Digital
Western Digital Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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