Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 823,656 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $520,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 18.3 %

WDC stock opened at $34.15 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $53.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.74. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $34.01 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. Research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.21.

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.