Stifel Financial Corp Sells 12,675 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Stifel Financial Corp lowered its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,289 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 12,675 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in Western Digital were worth $6,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded down $0.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.12. The company had a trading volume of 7,996,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,816,699. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $48.96 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.80. 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 (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm's revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.97) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, November 29th. BNP Paribas dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This represents a 7.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock worth $13,042,381. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.