Cerity Partners LLC Buys 81,137 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 634.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,926 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,137 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 79.1% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth $41,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth $48,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.9 %

WDC opened at $71.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.67. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $76.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.05 and its 200 day moving average is $53.77.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 19.90% and a negative return on equity of 19.45%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.69) EPS. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post -2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James increased their target price on Western Digital from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $52.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.61.

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.