Stifel Financial Corp Cuts Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,289 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 12,675 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $6,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $166,860,000 after buying an additional 2,194,603 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Western Digital by 247.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $109,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,658 shares during the period. Sachem Head Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Western Digital by 75.2% in the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $216,795,000 after acquiring an additional 810,977 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.3 %

WDC stock opened at $65.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.67 and its 200 day moving average is $68.80. The stock has a market cap of $22.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $48.96 and a 1-year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.97) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, November 29th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total transaction of $139,390.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,140,723.52. This trade represents a 6.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 7.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 184,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,042,381 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.