LMR Partners LLP Acquires 389,500 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

LMR Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 39.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,375,869 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 389,500 shares during the period. Western Digital comprises 0.6% of LMR Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. LMR Partners LLP’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $88,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $220,680,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 130.0% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $203,337,000 after acquiring an additional 2,842,822 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,897,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 175.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,071 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $78,347,000 after purchasing an additional 784,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Western Digital by 338.3% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 936,313 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $59,915,000 after purchasing an additional 722,702 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Down 5.8%

WDC stock opened at $176.34 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.82. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $188.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cynthia L. 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 trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total value of $3,013,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,265,422.23. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 26,369 shares of company stock valued at $4,013,785 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WDC. Mizuho raised their price target on Western Digital from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. China Renaissance assumed coverage on Western Digital in a report on Friday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $193.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Western Digital from $94.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $125.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.70.

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.