Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $5.74 Million in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group acquired 8,992 Western Digital shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $5.74 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Western Digital reported quarterly EPS of $3.56, beating estimates by $0.25, while revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion. The company issued fiscal 2027 first-quarter EPS guidance of $3.85–$4.15.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $534.56 average price target, while AI-related storage demand and pricing trends remain key catalysts. Western Digital also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,992 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,744,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Western Digital by 11.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $456,884,000 after buying an additional 384,103 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Western Digital by 1,926.3% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $195,882,000 after buying an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $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 Western Digital by 6.0% in 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 valued at $483,977,000 after purchasing an additional 159,167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $536.01 on Tuesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $73.14 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The company has a market capitalization of $184.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14 and a beta of 2.14. The company's fifty day moving average price is $556.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $428.76.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,093 shares of company stock valued at $11,650,737. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Improving fundamentals supported the move higher. Expanding margins and a forecast-beating outlook gave Western Digital-specific support beyond the broader storage-sector rally. The company recently exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, while revenue grew sharply year over year. Western Digital Stock Jumps Over 6% as Memory Rally Accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst earnings estimates are being revised upward. Recent estimate revisions suggest expectations for Western Digital’s earnings are improving, potentially supporting additional near-term share-price momentum. Can Western Digital Run Higher on Rising Earnings Estimates?
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related storage demand and pricing tailwinds remain key catalysts. Western Digital is entering fiscal 2027 with expectations for strong end-market demand, better pricing, cloud growth tied to artificial intelligence, and a recovery in its hard-disk-drive business. Can Strong End Markets and Pricing Tailwinds Keep WDC’s Momentum Alive?
• Positive Sentiment: A broad memory-sector rally lifted sentiment. Elon Musk’s comments about a potential memory bottleneck, along with strong long-term expectations for peer SanDisk, helped boost storage and memory stocks, including WDC. Political developments cited by market coverage also contributed to the positive tone. SanDisk Rallies, Western Digital Rises, and Micron Gains as Elon Musk Flags a Memory Bottleneck
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon discounted a WD-branded 5TB My Passport portable hard drive. The promotion may support consumer visibility but is unlikely to materially affect Western Digital’s investment outlook. Amazon Clears Out WD 5TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street Zen lowered its rating on Western Digital, providing a counterpoint to the more optimistic earnings and industry-demand signals. Western Digital Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Fox Advisors downgraded Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.56.

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.

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 reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source