Brokerages Set Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Target Price at $80.21

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.21.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

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Western Digital Trading Down 1.9 %

Western Digital stock traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $43.68. The stock had a trading volume of 4,136,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,970,736. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $39.42 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.19 and a 200 day moving average of $63.26. The firm has a market cap of $15.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (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, analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,296 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 8.2% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,387 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,051,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 9.5% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,665 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 47,533 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,246,000 after buying an additional 3,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 76,131 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $5,199,000 after buying an additional 6,455 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.