Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Stock Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,748 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 1,858 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in Western Digital by 15.6% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,527 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,203 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 10,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,891 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $64.58 on Tuesday. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $46.05 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $22.33 billion, a PE ratio of 37.99 and a beta of 1.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.97) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at $59,633,905.40. This represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,561 shares of company stock worth $13,309,042 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas decreased their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

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.