152,676 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 152,676 Western Digital shares worth approximately $97.5 million in the second quarter, making WDC its 22nd-largest holding and about 0.5% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors own 92.51% of Western Digital, while insiders sold 26,117 shares worth roughly $12.1 million over the past 90 days.
• Western Digital reported 44% year-over-year revenue growth to $3.75 billion and quarterly EPS of $3.56, beating estimates; analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $534.56.

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 152,676 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $97,517,000. Western Digital comprises approximately 0.5% of Empowered Funds LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,117 shares of company stock worth $12,053,353. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Western Digital from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 target price on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.5%

Western Digital stock opened at $462.00 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $532.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $439.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

About Western Digital

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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