Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired 425,171 Western Digital shares worth approximately $271.6 million, representing about 0.12% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of WDC.
• Western Digital exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.56 in EPS and $3.75 billion in revenue, up 43.8% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $534.56.
• Insiders sold 25,384 shares worth $11.75 million last quarter under pre-arranged trading plans, while the company declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.1% yield.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 425,171 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $271,565,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.12% of Western Digital as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 114,539 shares in the company, valued at $60,663,290.57. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,384 shares of company stock worth $11,753,463 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 3.5%

WDC opened at $450.75 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $543.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $436.75. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $799.87. The stock has a market cap of $155.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fox Advisors cut shares of Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $534.56.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish on Western Digital’s growth outlook. Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $3.56 and revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year. Fiscal 2027 catalysts include rising hyperscale demand, improving margins, 40TB drive launches and HAMR technology. Prediction: This Memory Stock Will Soar 165% in 3 Years
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital was highlighted as a top momentum and growth stock, with commentary pointing to strong earnings trends, AI-driven storage demand, cash generation and a potential memory shortage. Brokerages collectively maintain a “Moderate Buy” rating, with a consensus target price above the current trading level. Western Digital Is a Top-Ranked Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital will present at Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference on September 9. The event may provide updates on demand, pricing and its product ramp, but the announcement included no new guidance. WD to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 919 shares in two transactions under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sales reduced her holdings only marginally and are unlikely to materially change the investment case. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and sector rotation ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report have pressured high-flying AI, memory and semiconductor stocks, including WDC. Investors are also monitoring valuation risk, cloud-customer concentration and execution requirements for upcoming products. Memory and Semiconductor Stocks Fall Ahead of Nvidia Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple could source memory chips from Chinese suppliers have raised concerns about competition and pricing throughout the memory industry. A discounted 8TB WD My Book drive on Amazon is consumer-oriented news with little direct effect on WDC’s investment outlook. WD 8TB My Book External Hard Drive Price Cut

Western Digital Company 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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