188,985 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Bought by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired 188,985 shares of Western Digital Corporation, valued at approximately $7.64 million, increasing its ownership to 0.05% of the company.
• Wall Street analysts have positive outlooks on Western Digital, with target prices ranging from $53 to $99 and a consensus average price target of $81.89.
• Western Digital plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 4th, representing an annual yield of 0.4%.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 188,985 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,641,000. Strs Ohio owned 0.05% of Western Digital as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 52.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 9,974 shares during the period. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 32.0% in the first quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 897,574 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $36,289,000 after purchasing an additional 217,574 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $35,406,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 5.1% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,834,000 after purchasing an additional 6,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 89,244 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,608,000 after purchasing an additional 5,711 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.89.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.6%

Western Digital stock opened at $97.66 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $76.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $34.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.69. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $98.86.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.Western Digital's revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $654,333.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 594,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.

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