Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $9.80 Million Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 11.2%, ending the quarter with a holding valued at approximately $9.80 million.
• Western Digital reported earnings of $1.66 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and showcasing a 30% year-over-year revenue growth to $2.61 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 0.4% and a payout ratio of 7.77%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 242,437 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 30,600 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.07% of Western Digital worth $9,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WDC. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 7,161 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,674 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,431 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,695,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Western Digital by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,626,850 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $97,009,000 after buying an additional 346,476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 36,301 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,165,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.89.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,121,547.78. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ WDC traded up $1.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.66. 6,751,889 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,141,993. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $98.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $76.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.20.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

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.