Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 49.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,644 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 61,864 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $11,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth increased its stake in Western Digital by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. BOKF NA boosted its position in Western Digital by 6,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 272 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.
More Western Digital News
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its outlook on Western Digital and boosted its price target, adding to the bullish case that AI data-center growth is driving stronger-than-expected storage demand. Western Digital Stock Just Hit a New All-Time High. Here’s Why.
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say WDC is benefiting from a broader re-rating of AI storage stocks, with investors focused on tight hard-disk supply, sold-out inventory, and higher pricing power. Western Digital stock jumps as AI trade reignites
- Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted a hyperscaler multiyear commitment to Western Digital, reinforcing confidence that demand from large cloud customers remains robust. Hyperscaler’s Multiyear Commitment with Western Digital (WDC) Highlights Robust Demand
- Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also watching June 22 for the planned SanDisk-related swap, which could create another event-driven trading catalyst for WDC. Dear Western Digital Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 22
- Negative Sentiment: One commentary piece argued the stock may be due for a near-term pullback after its huge run-up this year, suggesting valuation and momentum risks could cap gains in the short term. Western Digital stock looks ripe for a near-term pullback: find out more
Western Digital Price Performance
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The firm’s revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.58%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total value of $2,071,470.06. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,905,270.79. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WDC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Western Digital to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Western Digital from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $450.46.
View Our Latest Stock Report on WDC
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.
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