Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Lowers Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,473 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mariner LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 239.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 86,888 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,965,000 after acquiring an additional 61,309 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Western Digital by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,268,764 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $149,154,000 after acquiring an additional 92,009 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Western Digital by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 362,802 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $16,555,000 after acquiring an additional 49,540 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Western Digital by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 37,156 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Western Digital by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $1,973,158.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 144,623 shares in the company, valued at $10,626,898.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $1,973,158.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 144,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,626,898.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,579 shares of company stock worth $2,238,595. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $75.77 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $73.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.42. The company has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of -15.25 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $35.62 and a twelve month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.57) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post -1.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.09.

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.