Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Sold by Strategy Asset Managers LLC

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lessened its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,758 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 877 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after buying an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. Sachem Head Capital Management LP boosted its position in Western Digital by 75.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WDC. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.21.

Western Digital Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $40.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.41. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $39.42 and a 52-week high of $81.55. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.