NWI Management LP Buys Shares of 360,000 Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

NWI Management LP purchased a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 360,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $21,467,000. Western Digital comprises about 0.9% of NWI Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. NWI Management LP owned approximately 0.10% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. S.A. Mason LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Up 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $49.01 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.32 and a 200 day moving average of $55.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

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

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Western Digital from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.15.

Western Digital 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.