Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 40.7%, owning 21,101 shares valued at approximately $1.35 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have significantly increased their stakes in Western Digital, with increases ranging from 29.7% to 879.4% in recent quarters.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Western Digital, with consensus ratings indicating it as a "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.63.

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 40.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,101 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,103 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $9,663,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,864 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 4,324 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 879.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,045 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,632 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 3,470.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 253,294 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $10,241,000 after purchasing an additional 246,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 7.3% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 674,874 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $27,285,000 after purchasing an additional 46,202 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $239,148.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WDC. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Western Digital to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.63.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.3%

WDC opened at $106.88 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $113.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.58. The company has a market cap of $37.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

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.

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