Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading 6.8% Higher – What’s Next?

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s share price rose 6.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $181.49 and last traded at $177.5090. Approximately 1,317,957 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 8,254,721 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.26.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $180.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.65.

Western Digital Trading Up 6.9%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $150.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 2,801 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.57, for a total transaction of $449,756.57. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 144,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,217,779.72. This represents a 1.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 1,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total transaction of $272,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,090. This trade represents a 33.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,369 shares of company stock worth $4,013,785 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,282,393 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,196,484,000 after purchasing an additional 243,177 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,305,289 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $593,045,000 after buying an additional 186,030 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at $791,317,000. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 8.5% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,535,972 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $354,247,000 after acquiring an additional 431,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in Western Digital by 130.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,842,822 shares during the period. 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.