VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $7.49 Million in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 117,100 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,493,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 102.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter worth $29,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 34.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 242.2% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $121.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $100.29 and its 200-day moving average is $70.74. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $137.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $239,148.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at $2,388,460.80. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $123.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.65.

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.