The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 477,390 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 240.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 675,875 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 477,390 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.21% of Western Digital worth $51,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. TD Cowen reduced their price target 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. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.24.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.5 %

Western Digital stock opened at $69.42 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $35.62 and a one year high of $81.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.67 billion, a PE ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $64.09 and its 200 day moving average is $69.70.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released 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. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $63,051,021.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,331,098.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.