Atalan Capital Partners LP Takes Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Atalan Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,050,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $62,612,000. Western Digital comprises about 6.2% of Atalan Capital Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $44.69 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.13. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WDC. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Western Digital from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Western Digital from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.65.

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.