29,622 Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Purchased by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors increased its Western Digital position by 7.5%, purchasing 29,622 shares to hold 424,942 shares valued at approximately $193.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Western Digital reported quarterly earnings of $4.64 per share on $4.38 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst estimates, while revenue rose 55.5% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.175 per share.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.04, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Company insiders sold 25,436 shares worth $11.3 million during the quarter.

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 424,942 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 29,622 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Western Digital worth $193,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $627,606,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $366.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $137.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.11. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $421.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $416.75. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $132.43 and a 52-week high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.1750 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $740.00 to $660.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Western Digital from $730.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $668.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Susquehanna set a $405.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $591.04.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue of $4.38 billion, non-GAAP EPS of $4.64 and free cash flow of $1.38 billion, exceeding expectations. Management also forecast approximately $5.1 billion in fiscal second-quarter revenue and $5.80 in non-GAAP EPS, signaling continued strength in AI-related data-center storage demand. Western Digital slides as strong results fail to calm spending and sector worries
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain well above the current trading level, with Quiver Quantitative citing a six-month median target of $650. Several analysts view Western Digital as a major beneficiary of AI infrastructure expansion and rising demand for high-capacity nearline hard drives. Western Digital selloff and analyst targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital and Seagate are both benefiting from AI data-center spending. However, comparisons favor Seagate on some metrics, including return on equity, valuation and free-cash-flow generation, potentially affecting investor preference within the storage group. Seagate versus Western Digital
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether AI infrastructure spending and lofty storage-sector valuations can remain sustainable. A sharp decline in Sandisk and weakness across memory and semiconductor stocks amplified pressure on WDC, even after Sandisk delivered strong results and raised guidance. Memory-sector selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending of $227 million, continued buybacks and capacity and technology-transition needs have raised concerns about cash demands and future returns. Profit-taking after WDC’s substantial earlier advance may also be contributing to the decline. Quiver also reports 110 insider sales and no insider purchases over the past six months, an additional sentiment headwind. Western Digital spending and insider activity

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,436 shares of company stock valued at $11,340,064. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Western Digital 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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