Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Raises Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 156,001 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,140 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $9,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Western Digital by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,501 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,312,000 after acquiring an additional 8,217 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 62.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 27,282 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,863,000 after buying an additional 10,524 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 13.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,285 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,348,000 after buying an additional 2,371 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 123.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,028 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after acquiring an additional 22,670 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $34.40 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $48.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.87. 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 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company 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.