Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,410 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,986 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $6,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,897 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 21.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,896 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 225.5% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $238,000. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 95.9% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 243,812 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $18,474,000 after buying an additional 119,372 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $65.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $67.69 and a 200-day moving average of $68.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.81 billion, a PE ratio of 38.82 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $48.96 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.97) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 7.72 % 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 owned by company insiders.

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.