Blue Trust Inc. Buys 277 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 51.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 818 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $62,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $65.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $65.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.56. The firm has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $38.43 and a 12 month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.97) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 7.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total value of $139,390.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,140,723.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 200,715 shares of company stock valued at $14,002,914 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas lowered their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

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.