Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given New $71.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target boosted by Bank of America from $62.00 to $71.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WDC. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.37.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $57.02 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 1.49. Western Digital has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $81.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 7.58%.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,564 shares of company stock valued at $663,018 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,736,003,000 after purchasing an additional 478,728 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $520,450,000 after purchasing an additional 823,656 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $352,572,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in Western Digital by 130.0% in the first 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, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $273,852,000 after buying an additional 881,088 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Western Digital

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.