14,237 Shares in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Purchased by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,237 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $988,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WDC. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $166,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,603 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 247.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $109,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,658 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $216,795,000 after acquiring an additional 810,977 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after acquiring an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 304.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 709,386 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $53,750,000 after acquiring an additional 534,168 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WDC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.71.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $72.99 on Friday. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $46.47 and a one year high of $81.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.11. The stock has a market cap of $25.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.40. 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 (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.97) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 185,963 shares of company stock worth $13,154,039. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.