Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 9,014 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 22.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,575 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,014 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WDC stock opened at $63.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.73 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.23. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $35.62 and a one year high of $81.55.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush boosted their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.82.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,873,374.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $27,059.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,873,374.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,174 shares of company stock valued at $1,070,642 in the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.