New York State Teachers Retirement System Trims Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 256,460 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 13,370 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $15,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 181,411 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $10,818,000 after buying an additional 6,331 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Western Digital by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Western Digital by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 137,360 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $8,338,000 after purchasing an additional 5,159 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Western Digital by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,883 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Investment Management Co. increased its position in Western Digital by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 21,423 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ WDC opened at $68.39 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $52.77 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The company has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.42.

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.