Virtu Financial LLC Invests $755,000 in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,424 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $755,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 12,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at $289,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Western Digital by 1.1% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 59,096 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,701,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Western Digital by 0.8% during the third quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 63,319 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,889,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 199.9% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 7,465 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 4,976 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.88, for a total value of $29,902.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,473.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $1,973,158.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 144,623 shares in the company, valued at $10,626,898.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.88, for a total transaction of $29,902.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,473.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,360 shares of company stock worth $2,221,513. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $78.12 on Monday. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $35.62 and a 52 week high of $80.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.86. The company has a market cap of $25.51 billion, a PE ratio of -15.72 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.34.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.57) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post -1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WDC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Argus increased their price target on Western Digital from $68.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.09.

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.