Vontobel Holding Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 22.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,640 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $1,242,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 28.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth $13,260,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Western Digital by 6.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 382,071 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $26,073,000 after purchasing an additional 23,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in 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 valued at $73,126,000 after purchasing an additional 981,527 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.5 %

WDC opened at $67.03 on Monday. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $35.62 and a one year high of $81.55. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.89 and its 200-day moving average is $69.85. The company has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a PE ratio of -36.83 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WDC. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. StockNews.com raised Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.24.

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.