Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,881,847 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 143,074 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $218,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Western Digital by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,579,938 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,020,431,000 after purchasing an additional 215,207 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 7,857,586 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $595,369,000 after buying an additional 206,756 shares during the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,900,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $150,958,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Western Digital by 39.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $216,795,000 after acquiring an additional 810,977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Summit Insights lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.05.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.2 %

WDC stock opened at $64.42 on Thursday. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $35.62 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.96 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the 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 owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,900 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.48, for a total transaction of $178,292.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,303.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,955 shares of company stock worth $1,053,560 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.