Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Grows Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP boosted its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 48.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,194 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,824 shares during the quarter. Western Digital makes up about 1.3% of Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,579,938 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,020,431,000 after buying an additional 215,207 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.7% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 7,857,586 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $595,369,000 after purchasing an additional 206,756 shares during the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $212,900,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,096,993 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $162,190,000 after purchasing an additional 68,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $150,958,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $134,391.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,019,957.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,174 shares of company stock valued at $1,070,642. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WDC. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Summit Insights cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.18.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.9 %

WDC stock opened at $60.77 on Friday. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $35.62 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.23 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.00.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.