Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,059 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 581 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $43.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $57.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.11. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $39.42 and a one year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 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%. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WDC. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Benchmark downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.21.

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.