Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 791,512 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 100,826 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Western Digital worth $54,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in Western Digital by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 7,857,586 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $595,369,000 after acquiring an additional 206,756 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Western Digital by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,881,847 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $218,400,000 after purchasing an additional 143,074 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Western Digital by 39.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $216,795,000 after acquiring an additional 810,977 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $166,860,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Western Digital by 247.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $109,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,658 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,561 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,042 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WDC. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.71.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.80. 3,502,102 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,722,891. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $66.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.94 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $45.23 and a 12 month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.97) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current 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.