Tobam Purchases Shares of 592 Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Tobam acquired a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 592 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WDC. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,842,822 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 107.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $136,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,481 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter worth $50,897,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter worth $35,406,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at $22,849,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total transaction of $28,557.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,682.50. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,186 shares of company stock valued at $6,213,015. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $166.11 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $123.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.87. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $178.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.79 billion, a PE ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued 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 company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research 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 paid a $0.125 dividend. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Wedbush upped their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Western Digital from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen increased 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.74.

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.