Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 11.2%, now owning approximately $118.3 million worth of shares.
• The company has announced a share repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to $2 billion in shares, a decision reflecting the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Western Digital reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.66, exceeding estimates and showing a 30% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,926,051 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 367,551 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.84% of Western Digital worth $118,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Western Digital by 34.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 242.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,148,052.40. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $92.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.24 and a 200-day moving average of $56.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $93.10.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.28.

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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