Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Purchased by Sachem Head Capital Management LP

Sachem Head Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 871,500 shares during the period. Western Digital makes up 7.3% of Sachem Head Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Sachem Head Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.59% of Western Digital worth $138,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position 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 worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,860 shares during the last quarter. Avala Global LP lifted its position in Western Digital by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avala Global LP now owns 1,147,700 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $78,376,000 after acquiring an additional 377,500 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Western Digital by 11.2% during the 3rd 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. 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 period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 137.9% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,575 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 25,262 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock worth $13,042,381. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:WDC traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $72.21. The company had a trading volume of 2,079,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,041,981. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $67.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $46.75 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.55 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.97) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.