KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

KBC Group NV grew its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 277,010 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,849 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.08% of Western Digital worth $18,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth $262,000. Parametrica Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth $566,000. Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at about $493,000. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its holdings in Western Digital by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 6.5% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 236,672 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $16,162,000 after buying an additional 14,379 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC traded down $0.42 on Friday, reaching $62.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,502,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,722,891. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $66.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.94 and a beta of 1.40. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $45.23 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.48, for a total value of $178,292.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,303.04. This trade represents a 7.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 188,561 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,042 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Six research 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 company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

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.