Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 375,637 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 136,704 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Western Digital worth $25,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its stake in Western Digital by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 11,860 shares in the last quarter. Avala Global LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 49.0% in the third quarter. Avala Global LP now owns 1,147,700 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $78,376,000 after purchasing an additional 377,500 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 19.7% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 291,777 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $19,925,000 after purchasing an additional 47,965 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 277,010 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $18,917,000 after purchasing an additional 27,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 137.9% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,575 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,976,000 after buying an additional 25,262 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WDC traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,512,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,042,185. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $67.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $48.96 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.97) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at $59,633,905.40. This represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 184,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,042,381 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Benchmark cut Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Western Digital Company 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.