Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Purchased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV raised its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 277,010 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,849 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.08% of Western Digital worth $18,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 8.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,407 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $243,000. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $12,339,000. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. This represents a 1.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 188,561 shares of company stock worth $13,309,042. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Summit Insights lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $62.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.94 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $66.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.32. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $45.23 and a 52 week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.97) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.