APG Asset Management N.V. Trims Stock Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (WDC) by 3.9%, selling 7,988 shares, leaving the fund with approximately 0.06% ownership worth $7.39 million.
• Analysts have shown optimism for Western Digital, with upgrades from firms like Barclays and Citigroup, raising the target price significantly and giving the stock ratings of "overweight" and "buy" respectively.
• Western Digital recently announced a $0.10 quarterly dividend and approved a $2 billion stock buyback program, indicating confidence in the stock's undervaluation.

APG Asset Management N.V. decreased its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 197,491 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 7,988 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. owned approximately 0.06% of Western Digital worth $7,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WDC. Summit Insights upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Susquehanna raised their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup raised their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.39.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,828 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $136,697.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 29,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,358.96. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,194 shares of company stock valued at $2,913,589. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.9%

WDC stock opened at $79.22 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $79.84. The stock has a market cap of $27.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58. The business's 50-day moving average is $69.13 and its 200 day moving average is $54.93.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Western Digital's 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Company Profile

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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