Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Position Reduced by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,547,145 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 64,517 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.47% of Western Digital worth $117,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,194,603 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,029,658 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 1,089.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,071,600 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $73,126,000 after buying an additional 981,527 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 39.6% during the second 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 buying an additional 810,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Western Digital by 304.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 709,386 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $53,750,000 after buying an additional 534,168 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.2 %

WDC opened at $66.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.43 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.80. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $35.62 and a twelve month high of $81.55.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,873,374.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was 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 owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.24.

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.