Convergence Investment Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 20,176 Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Convergence Investment Partners LLC opened a new position in Western Digital, buying 20,176 shares worth about $5.46 million in the first quarter. The stake represents roughly 0.9% of the fund’s holdings.
• Western Digital continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with 92.51% of shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds. Several large funds recently made major additions, including Norges Bank, Soroban Capital Partners, and AQR Capital Management.
• The company has seen a mix of positive analyst updates and insider selling: analysts currently rate WDC “Moderate Buy” with a $520.32 consensus target, while CEO Irving Tan and Director Bruce E. Kiddoo both sold shares in recent months.

Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 20,176 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,457,000. Western Digital accounts for approximately 0.9% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WDC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $788,729,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased 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 acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $221,800,000. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 267.6% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,691,659 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $291,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,477 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $512,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228,661 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Fox Advisors lowered shares of Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $520.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction of $8,236,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,342,096. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 28,959 shares of company stock valued at $12,631,666. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $487.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $168.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $66.04 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $560.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $388.23.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 3.58%.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is benefiting from a rebound in memory stocks as investors step back in after last week’s selloff, improving sentiment across the semiconductor group. Micron Jumps 5%, SanDisk Rises 6%, Western Digital Climbs 4% as Memory Stocks Rebound With Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s view that the memory-stock selloff created a strong entry point is encouraging dip-buying in Western Digital and other chip names. The Memory Stock Sell-Off Created a ‘Strong Entry Point,' Says Morgan Stanley. Investors Are Buying In.
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital Malaysia was recognized for advancing sustainable AI infrastructure, which supports the company’s AI narrative but is unlikely to be the main stock-moving catalyst today. WD Malaysia Recognized for Advancing Sustainable AI Infrastructure

About Western Digital

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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