7,438 Shares in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Acquired by Ground Swell Capital LLC

Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,438 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000. Western Digital makes up approximately 0.4% of Ground Swell Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WDC. DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in Western Digital by 2.7% in the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 7,857,586 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $595,369,000 after buying an additional 206,756 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,881,847 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $218,400,000 after purchasing an additional 143,074 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Western Digital by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $216,795,000 after purchasing an additional 810,977 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in Western Digital by 28,925.8% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $166,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 247.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $109,602,000 after buying an additional 1,029,658 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Barclays upped their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of WDC stock opened at $65.88 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $41.78 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The firm has a market cap of $22.77 billion, a PE ratio of 38.75 and a beta of 1.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.97) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.48, for a total transaction of $178,292.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,303.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 188,561 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,042. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.