ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 21.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,088 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 825 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,640 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 291,777 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $19,925,000 after purchasing an additional 47,965 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,408 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares in the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $112,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $67.35 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.87. The company has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a PE ratio of -37.01 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $35.62 and a 52 week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. As a group, analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital 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.