III Capital Management Reduces Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

III Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 83.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 63,650 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 315,458 shares during the quarter. Western Digital accounts for about 0.3% of III Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. III Capital Management’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 28,925.8% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $166,860,000 after buying an additional 2,194,603 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 247.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $109,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,658 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Western Digital by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $216,795,000 after purchasing an additional 810,977 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 24.6% during the 3rd 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 valued at $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,633,905.40. This represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 186,276 shares of company stock worth $13,176,773. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $73.43. The stock had a trading volume of 5,392,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,830,806. The firm has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a PE ratio of 43.19 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.04. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $46.47 and a twelve month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.97) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday. BNP Paribas cut their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.