Swiss National Bank Boosts Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 976,507 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $58,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.47.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $44.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.79 and a 200 day moving average of $63.79. 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 return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.