Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Acquired by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,579 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 531 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WDC. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $94,181,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 75.2% during the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,629,000 after buying an additional 871,500 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after buying an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $218,034,000 after buying an additional 651,847 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $926,879,000 after buying an additional 423,651 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WDC. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.47.

Western Digital Stock Up 5.9 %

WDC stock opened at $44.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $39.42 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.78.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.