Brokerages Set Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Target Price at $162.16

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eighteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $162.1579.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price target on Western Digital from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $90.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total value of $28,557.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,218,682.50. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the transaction, the insider owned 151,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,696 shares of company stock worth $4,066,517. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 124.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 102.5% in the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 86.9% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC opened at $155.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $53.13 billion, a PE ratio of 30.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $133.45 and a 200-day moving average of $91.04. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $178.45.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. 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 is presently 7.28%.

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.