Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stake Lifted by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 800,127 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 20,458 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Western Digital worth $51,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 178.3% during the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 668 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total value of $28,557.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,682.50. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $126.67 on Tuesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $137.40. The company has a market cap of $43.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.93.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Western Digital from $141.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on Western Digital from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.84.

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.