Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 186,030 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,305,289 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 186,030 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.67% of Western Digital worth $593,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 102.5% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 86.9% during the second 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 last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $29,000. CNB Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Western Digital by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WDC. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Loop Capital increased their price target on Western Digital to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.74.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $157.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $125.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.19. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $178.45.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. The business 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at $13,687,602.84. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total value of $3,013,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,265,422.23. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 60,186 shares of company stock worth $6,213,015 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.