Artemis Investment Management LLP Reduces Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lowered its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,441,897 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 3,889 shares during the period. Western Digital makes up approximately 1.2% of Artemis Investment Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned 0.42% of Western Digital worth $85,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark downgraded Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.65.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total transaction of $139,390.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,140,723.52. The trade was a 6.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock traded up $0.79 during trading on Monday, reaching $65.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,160,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,729,860. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.23. The company has a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.26 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $52.76 and a 12-month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business's revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.97) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

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.