Shell Asset Management Co. Increases Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Shell Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 104.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,135 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,680 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $212,900,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $150,958,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,466,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,260,000. Finally, Troluce Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,450,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $68.26 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.60. The company has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a PE ratio of -13.73 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $35.62 and a 52 week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.57) EPS. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post -1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WDC. Barclays lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $65.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.88, for a total value of $29,902.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,179,473.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total transaction of $1,973,158.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 144,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,626,898.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.88, for a total value of $29,902.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,473.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,488 shares of company stock worth $2,020,143. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.