Hartford Investment Management Co. Boosts Stock Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,423 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 669 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Sachem Head Capital Management LP increased its stake in Western Digital by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after acquiring an additional 732,344 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Western Digital by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $218,034,000 after acquiring an additional 651,847 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,287,400 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $224,497,000 after purchasing an additional 383,390 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of WDC stock opened at $68.39 on Friday. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $52.77 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.21.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its 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%. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.42.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.