Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd Lowers Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd cut its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 56.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,120 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 101,934 shares during the period. Melqart Asset Management UK Ltd's holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 11,013 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $50,191,000 after acquiring an additional 50,188 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 83.9% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Western Digital by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $5,930,000 after purchasing an additional 34,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.68.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of WDC stock opened at $40.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $42.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.86.

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

About Western Digital

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.

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