Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Cuts Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. has reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 12.6%, leaving it with 31,206 shares valued at approximately $1.24 million.
• Western Digital announced a $2.00 billion stock buyback plan, indicating the company's belief that its stock is undervalued.
• The company recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.66 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and provided a positive outlook with EPS guidance of 1.540-1.690 for Q1 2026.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. decreased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,206 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 4,503 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $6,365,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $688,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 4,594 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total transaction of $426,827.22. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 154,679 shares in the company, valued at $11,795,820.54. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,139 shares of company stock worth $1,485,812 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.39.

Western Digital Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $76.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.70 and a 200 day moving average of $54.96. The firm has a market cap of $26.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $78.80.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Western Digital 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WDC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.