Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 140,201 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 75.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,157 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 140,201 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $29,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at $59,633,905.40. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total transaction of $139,390.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,608 shares in the company, valued at $2,140,723.52. This represents a 6.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 188,520 shares of company stock valued at $13,306,224. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $66.43 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.08. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $46.05 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08 and a beta of 1.40.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

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.