Holocene Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares during the quarter. Western Digital accounts for about 0.9% of Holocene Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Holocene Advisors LP owned 0.92% of Western Digital worth $218,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 124.2% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,860 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 277,010 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $18,917,000 after buying an additional 27,849 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 19.7% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 291,777 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $19,925,000 after acquiring an additional 47,965 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 137.9% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,575 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after acquiring an additional 25,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $13,260,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.1 %

Western Digital stock opened at $72.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.09. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $46.47 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $25.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 32,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,019,957.96. This represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 185,963 shares of company stock valued at $13,154,039. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WDC. UBS Group cut their price target on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

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.