Hanseatic Management Services Inc. Trims Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 89.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,097 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 9,247 shares during the quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $75,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.71.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.6 %

Shares of WDC opened at $69.91 on Thursday. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $42.44 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.50. The company has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.12 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 188,561 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,042. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.