Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 1,439,149 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,439,149 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.21% of Western Digital worth $2,531,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Western Digital by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 932 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $495,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.62. 4,640,099 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,105,513. The company's 50 day moving average is $55.69 and its 200 day moving average is $62.41. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $39.42 and a one year high of $81.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.21.

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.