J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 11,051 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG decreased its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,274 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 11,051 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $183,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 123.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,028 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 22,670 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 20.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,562 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 9.3% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,745 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Western Digital by 278.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the subject of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.68.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $40.38. The stock had a trading volume of 2,084,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,281,619. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $81.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.82. The firm has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a PE ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current 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.