Handelsbanken Fonder AB Buys 35,700 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its Western Digital stake by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 35,700 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 135,500 shares worth about $23.3 million.
• Western Digital posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 versus the $2.39 estimate and revenue of $3.34 billion, up 45.5% from a year earlier. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 from $0.13.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $395.83. Several analysts recently lifted their targets, including Robert W. Baird, which raised its objective to $450.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 35.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,500 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 35,700 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Western Digital were worth $23,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 369 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,329 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $459.62 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $158.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44 and a beta of 2.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $364.30 and a 200 day moving average of $264.52. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $49.00 and a fifty-two week high of $525.15.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 2.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. New Street Research set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Argus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Western Digital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $395.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total transaction of $2,501,349.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,630.14. This trade represents a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total value of $2,743,105.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,794 shares in the company, valued at $29,137,796.14. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 53,679 shares of company stock valued at $18,049,314. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to highlight Western Digital’s role in the AI storage buildout, arguing that surging demand for enterprise SSDs and NAND flash could support a longer-lasting pricing upcycle. Recent coverage also points to raised fair-value estimates and higher price targets as expectations for earnings power improve. Why The Western Digital (WDC) Story Is Shifting On New Earnings And AI Storage Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s inclusion in the 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index North America may provide an incremental technical boost from index-related buying and reinforces improving investor perception around the company. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Included in 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index North America
• Positive Sentiment: A fresh thesis piece framed Western Digital as a beneficiary of a broader “AI rotation” into data storage, with tight NAND supply and rising enterprise demand seen as catalysts for margin and revenue expansion. The Great AI Rotation: Cashing In on Data
• Neutral Sentiment: One valuation-focused article says the stock has cooled after a strong run, with recent price action taking a breather even as longer-term momentum remains strong. This suggests some investors may be pausing to reassess whether the rally has gone too far. Western Digital (WDC) Valuation Check After Strong 1-Year Return And Recent Share Price Cooldown
• Negative Sentiment: Sector weakness also pressured Western Digital, with reports that memory and storage stocks fell as investors worried about AI infrastructure capacity, supply-chain constraints, and a broader rotation out of the group ahead of Nvidia’s earnings. Micron, Seagate, Western Digital Sink On Capacity Crunch Fears
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said Western Digital slid alongside Seagate as the AI infrastructure rally was tested, indicating near-term profit-taking and weaker sentiment across the memory complex. Seagate Stock And Western Digital Slide Further As AI Infrastructure Rally Tested

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.

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.