Prudential PLC Cuts Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Prudential PLC trimmed its position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 78.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,571 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 13,282 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Western Digital by 278.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.3 %

WDC stock opened at $31.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 7.51 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.78 and its 200 day moving average is $60.76.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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.