Gene M. Zamiska Sells 1,659 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $41.80 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average of $60.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.21. The company has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.42 and a fifty-two week high of $61.16.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WDC. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $926,879,000 after purchasing an additional 423,651 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $520,450,000 after purchasing an additional 823,656 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $352,572,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.