Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $160.21 and last traded at $158.02, with a volume of 13246832 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $150.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Susquehanna upped their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital upped their target price on Western Digital from $92.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 target price on Western Digital in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.63.

Western Digital Stock Up 5.2%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $111.78 and a 200 day moving average of $77.97. The firm has a market cap of $54.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 4th. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.28%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $239,148.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at $2,388,460.80. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 551.4% in the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% 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.