Gene M. Zamiska Sells 456 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.37, for a total value of $19,776.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,788.40. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC traded up $1.16 on Wednesday, hitting $42.96. 5,998,287 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,312,417. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.06. The company has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $39.42 and a 52-week high of $61.16.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $2,976,000 after buying an additional 25,262 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,696 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 101,086.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 66,783 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,561,000 after acquiring an additional 66,717 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 124.2% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $493,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Benchmark cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.47.

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.