Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,223 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 1,373 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $166,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,603 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $109,602,000 after buying an additional 1,029,658 shares during the period. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its position in Western Digital by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $216,795,000 after acquiring an additional 810,977 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 24.6% in 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 worth $253,453,000 after acquiring an additional 732,344 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $64.64 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $48.96 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.59.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.97) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total value of $139,390.42. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,140,723.52. This represents a 6.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 7.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock worth $13,042,381. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.