3,310 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Purchased by Perennial Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Perennial Investment Advisors acquired 3,310 Western Digital shares worth approximately $2.1 million, while institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $534.56, although targets vary widely.
• Western Digital reported quarterly EPS of $3.56 and revenue of $3.75 billion, beating estimates and marking 43.8% year-over-year revenue growth; however, insiders have sold more than $11.3 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,310 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,114,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Western Digital by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $456,884,000 after purchasing an additional 384,103 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $512,107,000 after buying an additional 1,228,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,809,409 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $483,977,000 after buying an additional 159,167 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $534.56.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of Western Digital 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 transaction, the insider owned 85,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 24,634 shares of company stock worth $11,357,073 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.0%

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $468.88 on Thursday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $799.87. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $538.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $438.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital disclosed exchange agreements covering approximately $191 million of its 3.00% convertible notes due 2028. The transaction will provide holders with cash and shares, potentially reducing debt, although the stock component could create some dilution. The exchanges are expected to close on or after September 2. Western Digital convertible notes article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to see support from AI, cloud and data-center demand. Western Digital recently reported quarterly revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.56 versus the $3.31 consensus. Management’s next-quarter outlook also points to continued strong growth. Western Digital debt exchange and AI demand analysis
• Positive Sentiment: A hammer chart pattern suggests technical support after the stock’s recent decline, while upward earnings-estimate revisions may improve the likelihood of a near-term rebound. Western Digital bottoming pattern article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a median recent price target of approximately $597.50. However, targets vary widely, reflecting uncertainty around valuation and execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is assessing potential effects from new U.S. sanctions related to Iran, including possible compliance costs, supply-chain disruptions and impacts on contract manufacturing or shipments. Western Digital Iran sanctions exposure article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity has been heavily weighted toward sales, including transactions by executives and directors. The reported sales were made under pre-arranged trading plans, reducing their significance, but they remain a potential overhang for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader caution toward highly valued AI and memory stocks, ahead of Nvidia’s earnings, and concerns about potential Chinese memory competition could pressure sector valuations and future pricing.

Western Digital 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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