L & S Advisors Inc Purchases New Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 38,020 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,881,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at $1,242,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Gerber LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $567,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in Western Digital by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 382,071 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $26,073,000 after buying an additional 23,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 1,089.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,071,600 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $73,126,000 after purchasing an additional 981,527 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $64.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.90 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $35.62 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,955 shares of company stock worth $1,053,560. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Loop Capital raised their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.05.

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.