Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 9,480 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,095 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 9,480 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Western Digital by 278.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $65.13 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.40. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.43.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 16.13%. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.21.

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.