MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 2,190 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,897 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 2,190 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $5,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas cut their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.71.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $72.99 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.12. The stock has a market cap of $25.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.40. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $46.47 and a 52-week 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.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.97) EPS. Equities analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $134,391.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. The trade was a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 185,963 shares of company stock valued at $13,154,039. 0.30% of the stock is 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.