Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Acquired by Arkadios Wealth Advisors

Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,954 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,731 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC opened at $65.04 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.23. The stock has a market cap of $22.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.26 and a beta of 1.43. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $52.76 and a 1-year high of $81.55. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.97) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 6.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday. BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.65.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.