Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Acquires New Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 175,005 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,952,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 0.05% of Western Digital as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $166,860,000 after buying an additional 2,194,603 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 247.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $109,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,658 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 39.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $216,795,000 after acquiring an additional 810,977 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 304.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 709,386 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $53,750,000 after purchasing an additional 534,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Western Digital by 240.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 675,875 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $51,211,000 after purchasing an additional 477,390 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Western Digital Trading Up 5.2 %

WDC stock opened at $73.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.95 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $46.28 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.06.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.97) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 186,278 shares of company stock worth $13,173,985. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.