Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 253 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,817 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 253 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $40.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $55.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $39.42 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its 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 return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.21.

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.