TIAA Trust National Association Reduces Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

TIAA Trust National Association trimmed its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,228 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 510 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 11,013 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $50,191,000 after buying an additional 50,188 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $23,305,000 after buying an additional 15,189 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 14,432 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Western Digital by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,930,000 after acquiring an additional 34,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ WDC opened at $41.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $39.42 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.18 and a 200-day moving average of $62.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% 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.