RBF Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

RBF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 40,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,732,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 10.7% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,203 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,349 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,490 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $267,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $72.34 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.03. Western Digital Co. has a 1-year low of $46.47 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The firm has a market cap of $25.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.55 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,042,381. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

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.