Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,059 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 581 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,929 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Western Digital by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Western Digital by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Western Digital by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 932 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.9 %

Western Digital stock opened at $43.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.11. The company has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.42 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.