California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• CalPERS reduced its Western Digital stake by 15.9% in the first quarter, selling 127,043 shares and leaving it with 671,717 shares worth about $181.7 million. Despite the trim, institutional ownership remains very high at 92.51%.
• Western Digital posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $2.72 versus the $2.39 consensus and revenue of $3.34 billion, up 45.5% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.12.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on the stock, with several firms lifting price targets, including Cantor Fitzgerald to $900 and Melius Research to $1,050. MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $520.32.

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 15.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 671,717 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 127,043 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of Western Digital worth $181,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $195,882,000 after buying an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $512,107,000 after buying an additional 1,228,661 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $477.22 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $66.04 and a one year high of $799.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $560.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $384.59. The stock has a market cap of $164.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This is an increase from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.58%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total value of $235,699.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 116,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,640,420.80. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: New coverage says Western Digital is well positioned to benefit from global AI infrastructure growth, with rising demand for advanced memory and storage supporting a stronger long-term revenue outlook. 4 Top-Ranked Memory Stocks to Buy as AI Infrastructure Expands Globally
• Positive Sentiment: Another report highlighted Western Digital as one of two smaller AI storage names that could benefit from expanding data center demand, citing improving margins and earnings growth potential. Everyone's Buying NVIDIA, but 2 Smaller AI Stocks Could Soar Higher
• Positive Sentiment: A separate Zacks piece argues AI data growth is accelerating HDD demand and that Western Digital’s focused strategy could help it capture hyperscale storage opportunities. AI Data Growth is Exploding: Can Western Digital Keep Up?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market wrap-ups noted high volatility in tech and momentum stocks, which is adding noise to trading in Western Digital and other memory names. The Tech Shakeout: Market Extremes & Gavin Baker's Bold Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street commentary also flagged Western Digital as part of a broader AI-memory trade, with analysts still generally constructive but market sentiment swinging sharply day to day. Which Storage Stock Is Best Positioned to Win the AI Memory War?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports said Western Digital fell alongside SanDisk and Micron as investors took profits in semiconductor and memory stocks, reflecting sector-wide rotation rather than company-specific trouble. Nasdaq Slips as Chip Stocks Come Under Pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital also faced a post-rally pullback as traders reassessed how durable the AI-driven storage boom will be ahead of the company’s next earnings report and guidance. Why Western Digital (WDC) Stock Is Down Today

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.32.

Western Digital 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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