141,306 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Purchased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 141,306 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $90,255,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital by 55.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price objective on Western Digital and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $534.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 26,117 shares of company stock valued at $12,053,353. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s AI- and cloud-storage growth thesis remains intact. Industry momentum from AI infrastructure, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and automotive applications is supporting expectations for continued demand. 3 Storage Devices Stocks to Buy as the Industry Gains Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A recent exchange of approximately $191 million of 3% convertible notes due 2028 is viewed as constructive liability management because it can reduce debt, although issuing shares may create some dilution. What’s Going on With Western Digital Stock on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital recently reported revenue growth of 44% year over year to $3.75 billion and earnings of $3.56 per share, exceeding estimates. Its next-quarter earnings guidance of $3.85 to $4.15 per share also supports the bullish fundamental case.
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and analyst indicators remain favorable: a recent hammer chart pattern suggested potential support, while upward earnings-estimate revisions and a bullish Wall Street consensus point to possible longer-term recovery. Western Digital May Find a Bottom Soon

Western Digital Stock Down 1.5%

Western Digital stock opened at $462.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $532.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $439.49. The company has a market capitalization of $159.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Western Digital's quarterly 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. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.48%.

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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