Insider Selling: Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells 2,801 Shares of Stock

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 2,801 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.57, for a total transaction of $449,756.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 144,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,217,779.72. This trade represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC traded down $4.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $155.59. 6,751,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,367,520. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $53.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.82. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $178.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $138.79 and a 200 day moving average of $94.97.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 30.89% and a net margin of 21.37%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 5.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $148.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Western Digital from $170.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 124.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 551.4% during the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 207.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.