Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,696 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DNB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in Western Digital by 2.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 206,756 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Western Digital by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,881,847 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $218,400,000 after purchasing an additional 143,074 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Western Digital by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $216,795,000 after purchasing an additional 810,977 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $166,860,000 after buying an additional 2,194,603 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 247.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $109,602,000 after buying an additional 1,029,658 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $63.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $44.13 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.62 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $66.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.46.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.97) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Summit Insights cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 188,561 shares of company stock worth $13,309,042. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.