Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Sold by Sora Investors LLC

Sora Investors LLC lowered its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 20.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 400,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 100,000 shares during the quarter. Western Digital comprises 4.8% of Sora Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Sora Investors LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $27,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $166,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,603 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in 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 valued at $109,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,658 shares during the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP raised its stake in Western Digital by 75.2% during the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 39.6% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 810,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,633,905.40. This represents a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 184,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,042,381 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, November 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.71.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.3 %

WDC opened at $72.11 on Friday. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.75 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.93 billion, a PE ratio of 42.42 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.48 and its 200 day moving average is $69.06.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.97) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.