Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Purchased by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 24.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 732,344 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 1.07% of Western Digital worth $253,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake 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 worth $166,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,603 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Western Digital by 39.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $216,795,000 after purchasing an additional 810,977 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Western Digital by 304.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 709,386 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $53,750,000 after buying an additional 534,168 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Western Digital by 240.5% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 675,875 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $51,211,000 after buying an additional 477,390 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WDC. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.71.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares in the company, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 185,963 shares of company stock valued at $13,154,039. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of WDC opened at $72.99 on Friday. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $46.47 and a one year high of $81.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.11. 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 company has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital 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.