83,124 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Acquired by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management acquired 83,124 Western Digital shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $54.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Western Digital reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion and EPS of $3.56, exceeding expectations. Management guided to $3.85–$4.15 in next-quarter EPS, supported by demand from AI infrastructure and data storage.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $534.56, although several insiders—including the CEO—recently sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 83,124 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $54,187,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Western Digital by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $456,884,000 after purchasing an additional 384,103 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $195,882,000 after buying an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 70.4% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.0% in the fourth 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 worth $483,977,000 after buying an additional 159,167 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s long-term outlook remains supported by demand for AI infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise storage, automotive systems and other data-intensive applications. Analysts at Zacks continue to identify WDC as a potential beneficiary of strong memory and storage demand, particularly following Nvidia’s solid results. 4 High-Flying Memory and Storage Giants
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results provide fundamental support: revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, while earnings of $3.56 per share exceeded expectations. Guidance for $3.85 to $4.15 in next-quarter EPS also remains constructive.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus remains bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target above the current trading level. Several firms have cited continued AI and storage demand as reasons for further upside. Wall Street’s Bullish Views on WDC
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Cynthia Tregillis sold a small portion of her holdings under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transactions modestly reduce her position but do not necessarily signal deteriorating confidence. Cynthia Tregillis Insider Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage stocks sold off even after Nvidia reported strong results, suggesting investors are taking profits from an extended AI trade and differentiating among suppliers. Western Digital’s underperformance versus peers has amplified concern that expectations or valuation may have become too aggressive. Why Memory Stocks Fell Despite Nvidia’s Results

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Friday, June 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $459.45 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The business's 50-day moving average is $526.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $439.63. The company has a market cap of $158.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio 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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