Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Acquires 3,308 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Dai ichi Life Insurance increased its Western Digital stake by 28.7% in the first quarter, buying 3,308 more shares to bring its total to 14,835 shares valued at about $4.0 million.
• Western Digital posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting $2.72 EPS on $3.34 billion in revenue, both above analyst estimates, with revenue up 45.5% year over year.
• The company also raised its dividend to $0.15 per quarter, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $520.32.

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 28.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,835 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,308 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Avion Wealth grew its position in Western Digital by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BOKF NA lifted its position in Western Digital by 6,700.0% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 272 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC opened at $519.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.16 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03 and a beta of 2.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $564.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $397.06. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.51 and a 52-week high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during 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%.The firm's revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 3.58%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,959 shares of company stock worth $12,631,666. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $340.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.32.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Memory-chip peers such as Micron, Sandisk, and SK Hynix were reported surging on continued enthusiasm for AI infrastructure spending and tight memory supply, which can lift sentiment for Western Digital as well. Article: Why Micron, Sandisk, and SK Hynix Are Surging—And How to Play It
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Western Digital’s AI storage exposure and relatively stronger financial footing versus peers like Super Micro, reinforcing the stock’s appeal as an AI hardware play. Article: WDC vs. SMCI: Which AI Hardware Stock is the Smarter Investment Now?
• Positive Sentiment: A valuation piece argued that Western Digital still looks attractive on earnings and especially cheap on a cash-flow basis, suggesting the recent rally may have room to continue if AI demand remains strong. Article: Western Digital (WDC) Stock Looks Reasonable On Earnings While Cash Flow Looks Cheap
• Neutral Sentiment: One report said Western Digital reentered merger-focused discussion, but it did not provide a concrete transaction update, so the near-term stock impact is unclear. Article: Western Digital (WDC) Reenters Merger Focus, Where Does Fair Value Sit?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position reported, which does not appear to be a major driver of the stock today.

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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