State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 185,780 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,082 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $9,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. CWM LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 13.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,186 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 20.8% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 47.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,918 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after buying an additional 18,044 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 137,097 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,256,000 after buying an additional 6,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $228,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Western Digital stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $69.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,595,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,011,973. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $32.01 and a twelve month high of $76.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $64.46 and a 200-day moving average of $54.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.57) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com cut Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Western Digital from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.28% 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.