Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 38.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 100,756 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 61,829 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $6,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 11,013 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $50,191,000 after purchasing an additional 50,188 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 83.9% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Western Digital by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,930,000 after purchasing an additional 34,579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WDC. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Benchmark cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.47.

Western Digital Stock Up 5.9 %

WDC stock opened at $44.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $39.42 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.78. The firm has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 15.68%. Research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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.