Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 8,299 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lessened its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,448 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 8,299 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AGF Management Ltd. raised its position in Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $166,860,000 after buying an additional 2,194,603 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $109,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,658 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 1,089.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,071,600 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $73,126,000 after purchasing an additional 981,527 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $216,795,000 after purchasing an additional 810,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Western Digital by 304.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 709,386 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $53,750,000 after purchasing an additional 534,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.71.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 188,144 shares of company stock valued at $13,281,983. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $63.84 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $66.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $46.05 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.55 and a beta of 1.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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%. Western Digital's revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.97) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.