Norges Bank Buys New Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 5,912,668 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $352,572,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.70% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $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% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $50,191,000 after purchasing an additional 50,188 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $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% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,930,000 after buying an additional 34,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of WDC opened at $40.62 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $39.42 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. As a group, research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark lowered 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Western Digital

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.