Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 273,037 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 69,700 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.08% of Western Digital worth $16,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 11,013 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $50,191,000 after purchasing an additional 50,188 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 53.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,930,000 after purchasing an additional 34,579 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $40.78 on Friday. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its 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 return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WDC. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Benchmark raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.