Polymer Capital Management HK LTD Takes $2.03 Million Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Polymer Capital Management HK LTD bought a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 34,050 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,030,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WDC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,531,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Western Digital by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $926,879,000 after purchasing an additional 423,651 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $520,450,000 after buying an additional 823,656 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,980,047 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $177,700,000 after buying an additional 586,924 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $30.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.48. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $29.76 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The company has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on WDC shares. Benchmark cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.21.

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.