Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,193 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,103 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $34,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 71.4% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,578 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $147,275,000 after buying an additional 96,078 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $19,694,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $14,466,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,599,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,307,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
More Western Digital News
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital was among the leading S&P 500 gainers as AI-related stocks rebounded. The recovery followed a sharp decline the previous week and reflected renewed buying interest in data-storage companies. Sandisk, Datadog, Amazon Lead S&P 500 As AI Stocks Rebound
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment provided another lift, with Wall Street Zen upgrading Western Digital to “Strong-Buy.” A separate analysis also presented the company as a potential value entry with substantial exposure to AI-driven storage demand. Wall Street Zen Upgrades Western Digital to Strong-Buy
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is being highlighted as an AI data-center beneficiary, since expanding AI workloads require significant storage capacity. Analysts cited in market coverage see sizable upside for selected AI-related technology stocks, including WDC. These 3 AI Tech Stocks Offer 80%+ Upside, According to Analysts
- Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter results late Thursday. With technology earnings viewed as an important test of whether AI spending remains durable, the report could become the next major catalyst for the stock. This Week’s Tech Earnings Could Be a Validation Moment for the AI Trade
- Negative Sentiment: Despite the rebound, WDC remains below its key moving averages after its steep previous-week selloff. Investors are also monitoring weakness and volatility across global memory and chip stocks ahead of related earnings reports, which could pressure storage-sector valuations. Chip Investors Watch Out: China’s CXMT Plunges Despite Record Forecast
Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital
In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,629 shares of company stock worth $11,033,404. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $525.00 to $470.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $608.26.
Read Our Latest Research Report on WDC
Western Digital Trading Up 6.1%
NASDAQ:WDC opened at $352.21 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $441.12 and its 200-day moving average is $478.99. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $117.23 and a 1-year high of $799.87. The stock has a market cap of $131.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 2.11.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.
Western Digital Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 2.48%.
Western Digital Company Profile
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.
The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.
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