Western Digital Corporation $WDC Position Lifted by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 28.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 168,323 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,100 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $28,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $791,317,000. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 4,923.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $409,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339,225 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $221,800,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 175.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,071 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $78,347,000 after buying an additional 784,645 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its coverage and boosted WDC’s price target to $405 with an Overweight rating, reinforcing institutional buy-side momentum and supporting the rally. Barclays raises price target to $405
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan (and Morgan Stanley commentary) flagged WDC as a top memory/storage idea and JPMorgan raised its price target to $400, adding credibility to the upside case and likely driving buy-side flows. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley Bullish on Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage has broadly shifted positive — Evercore and other shops have published bullish notes and the street consensus sits around a “moderate buy,” helping sustain momentum into new highs. Analyst consensus and Evercore note
• Positive Sentiment: Sector bullishness from continued AI-driven memory demand (Micron coverage and broader commentary) is lifting peers like WDC as investors price in stronger near‑term storage demand and higher margins. Stock Market Today, April 22: Micron Technology Surges on Continued Memory Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital published its FY2025 Annual Sustainability Report emphasizing efficiency and sustainability for AI-scale storage — a message that can help institutional ESG positioning but has limited immediate revenue impact. WD Raises the Bar on Sustainable Infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Management will be participating in several investor conferences (Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America) in May–June, which provides additional chances for guidance clarity and analyst engagement — important but informational. WD to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Memory-focused ETF flows (first dedicated memory ETF reaching ~$1B AUM) show strong demand for the group, which benefits WDC as a large-cap exposure to the theme but may amplify volatility. Memory ETF hits $1B AUM
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks and other commentators note WDC’s rapid run (to a 52-week high) leaves valuation stretched and raises the risk of a pullback if AI demand growth or margin assumptions disappoint. That makes timing entry points and position sizing more important. Is Western Digital Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold After Hitting a 52-Week High?
• Negative Sentiment: Comparative analysis (SanDisk vs Western Digital) highlights NAND-focused peers with different end-market exposure; investors worried about longer-term NAND vs HDD secular trends may prefer competitors, which could cap WDC’s multiple over time. SanDisk vs. Western Digital: Which Memory Storage Stock Is the Better Buy?

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $389.10 on Thursday. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $37.47 and a one year high of $402.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $299.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.92. The stock has a market cap of $131.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $260.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, New Street Research set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.79.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $9,616,638.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total transaction of $2,743,105.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 107,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,137,796.14. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 92,711 shares of company stock valued at $24,300,404. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.

Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.