Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 246,998 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 9,462 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.07% of Western Digital worth $9,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.7% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 66,950 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 289,693 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $11,712,000 after purchasing an additional 9,577 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 0.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,395 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,835,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Western Digital by 23.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 133,966 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,416,000 after buying an additional 25,247 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $65.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market capitalization of $22.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.01. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $80.38.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly 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. Western Digital had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 13.33%. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays set a $50.00 price target on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.79.

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.