Sora Investors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Sora Investors LLC decreased its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 400,000 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 100,000 shares during the quarter. Western Digital comprises about 4.8% of Sora Investors LLC's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Sora Investors LLC owned 0.12% of Western Digital worth $27,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Western Digital by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $926,879,000 after acquiring an additional 423,651 shares during the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP increased its stake in Western Digital by 75.2% in the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $138,629,000 after purchasing an additional 871,500 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Western Digital by 68.7% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 20,570 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 8,378 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in Western Digital by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 932 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RBF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,732,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

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

Western Digital Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 767,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,024,438. The company has a market capitalization of $25.01 billion, a PE ratio of 42.54 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.75 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $67.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.08.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business's revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.97) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. BNP Paribas dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.71.

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.