Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $3.54 Million in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 59,391 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,541,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,296 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 8.2% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,387 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,665 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 47,533 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 3,615 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 76,131 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,199,000 after acquiring an additional 6,455 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $44.75 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $39.42 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. As a group, analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WDC shares. Benchmark lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.21.

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.