Pinebridge Investments L.P. Acquires 36,647 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 106.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,103 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,647 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WDC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $183,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 123.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,028 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after buying an additional 22,670 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 20.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,562 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 9.3% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,745 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 278.9% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $40.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.91. Western Digital Co. has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.68.

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.