Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Purchased by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 91.7%, ending the first quarter with holdings valued at $5.56 million.
• Western Digital reported a 30% year-over-year increase in revenue, with earnings of $1.66 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, and initiated a share repurchase plan allowing for up to $2 billion in stock buybacks.

Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 91.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 137,391 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 65,710 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Western Digital were worth $5,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $49,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 594,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 154,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,795,820.54. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,361 shares of company stock valued at $3,006,534 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $80.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,004,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,871,037. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.28. The company has a market capitalization of $28.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $82.32.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management 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.