CastleKnight Management LP Sells 318,200 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

CastleKnight Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 60.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 210,700 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 318,200 shares during the period. Western Digital comprises 0.4% of CastleKnight Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. CastleKnight Management LP owned approximately 0.06% of Western Digital worth $12,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WDC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after buying an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $62,612,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WDC. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the 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 directly owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $45.03 on Tuesday. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $40.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.83. The firm has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.58%.

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.

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