Primecap Management Co. CA Trims Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 2.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,161,435 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 34,690 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $79,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,929 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 1.3% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 15.6% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,527 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Western Digital by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,203 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 10,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $65.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $46.05 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.75 billion, a PE ratio of 38.71 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $66.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.16.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total transaction of $139,390.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,140,723.52. The trade was a 6.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 7.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 188,144 shares of company stock valued at $13,281,983. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.