Insider Selling: Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Sells 1,659 Shares of Stock

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.8 %

NASDAQ:WDC traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $40.54. The company had a trading volume of 10,562,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,386,635. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.37. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $39.42 and a 1 year high of $61.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,696 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital by 101,086.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 66,783 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $4,561,000 after purchasing an additional 66,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 236,672 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $16,162,000 after purchasing an additional 14,379 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Benchmark downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.47.

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.