Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Sold by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD cut its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,033,805 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 2,908,130 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 2.60% of Western Digital worth $538,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Western Digital by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $40.91. 5,916,427 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,295,979. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WDC. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.68.

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.