Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Makes New $1.42 Million Investment in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 27,148 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,422,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 121.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Western Digital by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.36. The stock had a trading volume of 13,869,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,070,411. The stock has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of -14.36 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.03. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $32.01 and a 52-week high of $76.92.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.67% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.57) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post -2.21 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James cut Western Digital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.25.

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.