GTS Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 373.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,918 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,188 shares during the quarter. GTS Securities LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $8,251,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in Western Digital by 71.4% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,578 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $147,275,000 after purchasing an additional 96,078 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,122,095 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $193,303,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,889,000. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,950 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Win Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,233,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital
In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 26,117 shares of company stock valued at $12,053,353 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Key Western Digital News
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s long-term outlook remains supported by demand for AI infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise storage, automotive systems and other data-intensive applications. Analysts at Zacks continue to identify WDC as a potential beneficiary of strong memory and storage demand, particularly following Nvidia’s solid results. 4 High-Flying Memory and Storage Giants
- Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results provide fundamental support: revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, while earnings of $3.56 per share exceeded expectations. Guidance for $3.85 to $4.15 in next-quarter EPS also remains constructive.
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus remains bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target above the current trading level. Several firms have cited continued AI and storage demand as reasons for further upside. Wall Street’s Bullish Views on WDC
- Neutral Sentiment: Insider Cynthia Tregillis sold a small portion of her holdings under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transactions modestly reduce her position but do not necessarily signal deteriorating confidence. Cynthia Tregillis Insider Transactions
- Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage stocks sold off even after Nvidia reported strong results, suggesting investors are taking profits from an extended AI trade and differentiating among suppliers. Western Digital’s underperformance versus peers has amplified concern that expectations or valuation may have become too aggressive. Why Memory Stocks Fell Despite Nvidia’s Results
Western Digital Stock Down 0.6%
Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $459.45 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $526.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $439.63. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $799.87. The firm has a market cap of $158.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 2.48%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56.
Read Our Latest Report on Western Digital
Western Digital 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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