Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $169.50 and last traded at $170.8460, with a volume of 133643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $125.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Western Digital from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.47.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $118.10 and a 200-day moving average of $81.43. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $59.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 7.28%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total value of $3,013,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,265,422.23. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 31,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,783 shares of company stock worth $6,639,843. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $791,317,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $220,680,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake in Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $195,882,000 after buying an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its position in Western Digital by 130.0% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 107.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $136,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.