Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Purchases New Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,690 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $68.62. 1,545,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,157,216. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $38.43 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The firm has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.85 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.67. 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 (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.97) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 7.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,873,374.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.