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

Fmr LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,952,195 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 1,620,790 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 5.48% of Western Digital worth $1,294,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 241.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $409,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 21,566 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Up 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $73.02 on Wednesday. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $46.28 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.95 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.97) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned 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.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,019,957.96. This represents a 6.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 186,278 shares of company stock valued at $13,173,985. Corporate insiders own 0.30% 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.