M & L Capital Management Ltd Takes Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

M & L Capital Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000. Western Digital makes up about 0.1% of M & L Capital Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 11,013 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $50,191,000 after purchasing an additional 50,188 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,886,000 after buying an additional 14,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,930,000 after buying an additional 34,579 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.47.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 5.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $44.53 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.78. The stock has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.42 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. 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 data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Company 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.