LPL Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

LPL Financial LLC reduced its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 130,322 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 17,226 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $7,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 10.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $30.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 1.39. 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 52-week low of $29.76 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $52.70 and a 200 day moving average of $61.48.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced 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 note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.21.

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.