Fmr LLC Reduces Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Fmr LLC reduced its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,952,195 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 1,620,790 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Western Digital worth $1,294,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 241.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 670 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth $409,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,401 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 154,365 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $10,534,000 after buying an additional 21,566 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 186,278 shares of company stock worth $13,173,985. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Western Digital Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of WDC stock opened at $73.02 on Wednesday. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $46.28 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $66.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.95 and a beta of 1.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.97) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.