Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Buys 6,129 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,763 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,129 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $9,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,418 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 19.1% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,235 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Western Digital by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 95,385 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,514,000 after buying an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% in the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.21.

Western Digital Stock Down 3.1 %

NASDAQ WDC opened at $40.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.41. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $39.42 and a one year high of $81.55. The company has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.