Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $17.07 Million Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 325,780 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 2,271 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $17,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 7,240 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 3,738 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $1,422,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 185,780 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $9,729,000 after buying an additional 6,082 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Western Digital by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,663 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 14,113 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.8 %

WDC stock opened at $70.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $66.35 and its 200-day moving average is $55.64. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $32.01 and a twelve month high of $76.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.17 billion, a PE ratio of -14.28 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 12.87% and a negative return on equity of 13.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.57) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post -1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Western Digital from $65.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by 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.