Acadian Asset Management LLC Acquires 8,451 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 251.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,818 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,451 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,955 shares of company stock worth $1,053,560 in the last ninety days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $64.09 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.93 billion, a PE ratio of -12.90 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.48. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $35.62 and a 12 month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WDC. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.05.

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.