Allianz Asset Management GmbH Boosts Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,400,635 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 57,248 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $83,520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Western Digital by 32.3% during 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 buying an additional 11,013 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 124.2% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,860 shares in the last quarter. Avala Global LP raised its stake in Western Digital by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avala Global LP now owns 1,147,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $78,376,000 after purchasing an additional 377,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 291,777 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $19,925,000 after purchasing an additional 47,965 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of WDC opened at $68.71 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.54. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $52.77 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.42.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.