BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Increases Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 61.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,464 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,752 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 32,611 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,708,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $497,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 17,514 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 91,553 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,795,000 after buying an additional 6,085 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Western Digital by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 133,368 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,984,000 after acquiring an additional 7,770 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,331,098.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,955 shares of company stock worth $1,053,560. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $70.46 on Friday. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $35.62 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The company has a market cap of $24.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.18 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Summit Insights cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.24.

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.