Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 43.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,062 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 7,588 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WDC. UBS Group dropped their target price on Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.21.

Western Digital Trading Down 10.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $30.54 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $29.76 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.51.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.