Western Digital Corp (NYSE:WDC) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The data storage provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06, AnalystRatings.NET reports. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The company earned $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. The business’s revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Western Digital Corp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 4th. FBN Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of Western Digital Corp in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital Corp in a report on Monday, November 16th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital Corp in a report on Thursday, December 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital Corp in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twenty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $91.48.

Shares of Western Digital Corp (NYSE:WDC) traded up 4.63% during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $45.69. 6,413,821 shares of the company were exchanged. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $55.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.43. Western Digital Corp has a 12 month low of $42.28 and a 12 month high of $111.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion and a PE ratio of 8.12.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 1st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%.

In other Western Digital Corp news, CEO Stephen D. Milligan sold 6,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.33, for a total transaction of $413,832.87. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,942,031.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael Charles Ray sold 1,359 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $83,687.22. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,169 shares in the company, valued at $1,303,587.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Western Digital Corp stock. Simplex Trading increased its position in Western Digital Corp (NYSE:WDC) by 42.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 797 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Simplex Trading’s holdings in Western Digital Corp were worth $1,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Western Digital Corporation, is a data storage solutions company. The Company is a developer, manufacturer and provider of data storage solutions that enable consumers, businesses, governments and other organizations to create, manage, experience and preserve digital content. The Company’s Technology product includes: Hard Disk Drives and Solid-State Drives. Hard Disk Drives, provide non-volatile data storage. Solid-State Drives, are semiconductor and non-volatile media. The Company offers solutions including: Enterprise Storage Solutions, Client Desktop and Notebook PCs, Branded Product Solutions, Consumer Electronics Solutions. The Company’s products are marketed under the HGST, WD and G-Technology brand names.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:WDC

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