Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Sells $19,776.72 in Stock

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 456 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.37, for a total transaction of $19,776.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,878,788.40. This trade represents a 1.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $44.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $39.42 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The company has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.78.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Western Digital by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,531,876,000 after buying an additional 1,439,149 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $62,612,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.47.

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.