Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 8,217 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 20.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,501 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,217 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WDC. AGF Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 28,925.8% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $166,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,603 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 247.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $109,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,658 shares during the period. Sachem Head Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 75.2% in the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,629,000 after purchasing an additional 871,500 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 39.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $216,795,000 after purchasing an additional 810,977 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. This represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock worth $13,042,381. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $64.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $48.96 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The firm has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.97) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital 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.