Sierra Ocean LLC Takes $29,000 Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 482 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $732,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,689 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 628,672 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $37,488,000 after purchasing an additional 8,029 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 181,411 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $10,818,000 after purchasing an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $72.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $64.57 and its 200-day moving average is $65.37. 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 current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WDC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.42.

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.