National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 28,046 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,891 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,046 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Western Digital were worth $9,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 12.7% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 14,210 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,177 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 1,998 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 10,871 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 134,170 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $9,162,000 after acquiring an additional 3,884 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 3.8 %

NASDAQ:WDC traded down $1.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $34.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,512,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,283,133. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. Research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WDC. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.68.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.