Insider Selling: Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Sells 1,659 Shares of Stock

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) 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 value of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $40.54 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.37. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $39.42 and a 52-week high of $61.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com started coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.47.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 137.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,575 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after buying an additional 25,262 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Western Digital by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,696 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 101,086.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 66,783 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $4,561,000 after purchasing an additional 66,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 236,672 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $16,162,000 after purchasing an additional 14,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company 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.