Trivest Advisors Ltd Takes Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Trivest Advisors Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 163,300 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,450,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 118,888 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $7,594,000 after purchasing an additional 7,913 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $231,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 86.9% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Western Digital by 30.5% in the 2nd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,990 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $645,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WDC. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $105.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $125.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.63.

Western Digital Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of WDC stock opened at $160.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $114.81 and its 200-day moving average is $79.35. The stock has a market cap of $54.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.09, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.77. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $165.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued 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 net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 7.28%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 69,730 shares of company stock valued at $6,935,394 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% 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.