Sachem Head Capital Management LP Purchases 871,500 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Sachem Head Capital Management LP increased its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 75.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares during the quarter. Western Digital makes up 7.3% of Sachem Head Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Sachem Head Capital Management LP owned about 0.59% of Western Digital worth $138,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.9 %

WDC opened at $72.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.47 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.01 billion, a PE ratio of 42.55 and a beta of 1.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.35 and its 200 day moving average is $69.03.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WDC. Susquehanna increased their target price on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,633,905.40. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,042,381 in the last three months. Company 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.