Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Bought by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 556.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 262,900 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 222,872 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $17,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 6,235 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 744,938 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $50,872,000 after purchasing an additional 69,063 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $152,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,952,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday. Summit Insights cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.71.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $71.50 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $46.42 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $24.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.06 and a beta of 1.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.97) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 7.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 185,963 shares of company stock worth $13,154,039 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.