HBK Investments L P Invests $7.52 Million in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• HBK Investments L P has acquired a new position in Western Digital Corporation, purchasing approximately $7.52 million worth of shares.
• Western Digital reported a 30% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, along with earnings per share exceeding estimates at $1.66.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and has initiated a $2 billion stock buyback plan, reflecting confidence in its stock value.

HBK Investments L P bought a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 185,946 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,518,000. HBK Investments L P owned 0.05% of Western Digital as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,736,003,000 after acquiring an additional 478,728 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Western Digital by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $139,476,000 after purchasing an additional 52,140 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Western Digital by 107.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $136,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Finally, Sachem Head Capital Management LP raised its position in Western Digital by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $176,976,000 after purchasing an additional 937,900 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.39.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $80.34 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $70.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.28. The stock has a market cap of $28.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $82.32.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given 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 payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $426,827.22. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 154,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,795,820.54. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,361 shares of company stock worth $3,006,534. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Western Digital

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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