M&G Investment Management Ltd. Sells 67,906 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

M&G Investment Management Ltd. lessened its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 244,336 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 67,906 shares during the period. M&G Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Western Digital worth $12,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth approximately $1,565,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 70,744 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,228,000 after acquiring an additional 17,207 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth $226,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 125,598 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,731,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.3% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,641 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WDC. Raymond James cut shares of Western Digital from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Benchmark raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Western Digital from $65.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director now directly 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. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $2.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $73.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,083,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,952,392. The stock has a market cap of $24.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.80 and a beta of 1.53. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $34.56 and a 12 month high of $76.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.86.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.57) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post -1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.