Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases New Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,405 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 121.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $68.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.09.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 144,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,626,898.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 144,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,626,898.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,579 shares of company stock worth $2,238,595 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $75.77 on Friday. 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $74.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.39. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $35.62 and a 12 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 12.87% and a negative return on equity of 13.75%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.57) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post -1.45 EPS for the current year.

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.