Parsifal Capital Management LP Reduces Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Parsifal Capital Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 908,245 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 67,776 shares during the period. Western Digital comprises approximately 4.2% of Parsifal Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Parsifal Capital Management LP owned 0.26% of Western Digital worth $62,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WDC. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 7.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 184,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,042,381. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $71.69 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $67.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.04. The company has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.17 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.47 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.97) EPS. Research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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.