Cerity Partners LLC Buys 81,137 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 634.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,926 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 81,137 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. WESPAC Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $788,000. Tobam bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 166,750 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $8,733,000 after buying an additional 114,250 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 85,246 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $4,464,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Western Digital by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 74,457 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 3,713 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WDC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Western Digital from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.61.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.17. 6,523,840 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,014,477. The company has a market capitalization of $22.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.84 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $63.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.89. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $76.92.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.69) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post -2.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is 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.