Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Reduces Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 273,037 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 69,700 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.08% of Western Digital worth $16,281,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock traded up $3.24 on Wednesday, hitting $43.86. The company had a trading volume of 15,901,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,326,778. The stock has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.44 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.53.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WDC. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.