Prudential PLC Grows Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Prudential PLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 432.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,484 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,012 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,873,374.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $27,059.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $134,391.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,019,957.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,174 shares of company stock valued at $1,070,642 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $63.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.74 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.27. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $35.62 and a 1 year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Company 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.