BBR Partners LLC Invests $683,000 in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

BBR Partners LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its position in Western Digital by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 11,860 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 11.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 277,010 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $18,917,000 after purchasing an additional 27,849 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 137.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,575 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after buying an additional 25,262 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Western Digital by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 291,777 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $19,925,000 after buying an additional 47,965 shares during the period. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $13,260,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $71.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.06 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.07. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $46.42 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.97) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WDC. TD Cowen decreased their price objective 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. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,019,957.96. The trade was a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,963 shares of company stock worth $13,154,039 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently 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.