Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Stake Boosted by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,017 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 5,836 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Western Digital were worth $7,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Western Digital by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $926,879,000 after buying an additional 423,651 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,921,608 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $539,355,000 after purchasing an additional 76,781 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 13.2% during the third quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,287,400 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $224,497,000 after buying an additional 383,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $218,034,000 after buying an additional 651,847 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Benchmark cut shares of Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded down $2.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.71. The company had a trading volume of 9,049,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,672,517. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.45. The firm has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.44. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $52.77 and a 1-year 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.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current 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.