Virtu Financial LLC Purchases 21,143 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 158.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,451 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,143 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position 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. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,921,608 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $539,355,000 after purchasing an additional 76,781 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position 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. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 651,847 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $43.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.11. Western Digital Co. has a 52 week low of $39.42 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.19 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 1.42. 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 announced 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, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WDC. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America lowered their price target 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. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.21.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.