Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 252,344 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,657,815 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 252,344 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.52% of Western Digital worth $86,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $150,958,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 7.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 13,361,999 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $609,708,000 after purchasing an additional 870,971 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,260,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,486,333 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $113,451,000 after purchasing an additional 563,232 shares during the period. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 5,587,698 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $292,628,000 after purchasing an additional 443,903 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James downgraded Western Digital from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.32.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.2 %

Western Digital stock opened at $73.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $24.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.89 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.61. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $35.62 and a twelve month high of $76.92.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.57) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post -1.68 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.