Ieq Capital LLC Purchases 14,432 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 83.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,432 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning increased its position in Western Digital by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,408 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,896,000 after buying an additional 1,835 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 51.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 59.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 54,078 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $3,693,000 after buying an additional 20,117 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 18,268 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 2,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 82.4% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,108 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WDC. Mizuho cut their target price 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.42.

Western Digital Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of WDC opened at $68.71 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $64.78 and a 200 day moving average of $65.66. The company has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.44. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.