Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given New $175.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $94.00 to $175.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $151.63.

Western Digital Trading Up 8.7%

NASDAQ WDC opened at $150.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.54. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $157.65. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.77.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 5.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,121,547.78. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at $45,148,052.40. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Western Digital by 0.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,395 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.7% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 66,950 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 20.3% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 14,198 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 89,244 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $3,608,000 after acquiring an additional 5,711 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.