BNP Paribas Trims Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

BNP Paribas lowered its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 16.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,249 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 5,264 shares during the period. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $73.02 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.06. The company has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.95 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $46.28 and a 1 year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.97) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 186,278 shares of company stock worth $13,173,985. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WDC. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

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.