Holocene Advisors LP Has $272.59 Million Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Holocene Advisors cut its WDC stake by 59%, selling 3,265,562 shares and reducing its holding to 2,270,410 shares worth about $272.59 million, amid broad institutional repositioning (institutional ownership ~92.51%).
• Western Digital recently beat Q results (EPS $2.13 vs. $1.93; revenue +25.2% y/y), is supported by a $4.0 billion buyback and strong AI-storage demand, and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" view — though heavy insider selling has also been reported.

Holocene Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 59.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,270,410 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 3,265,562 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.66% of Western Digital worth $272,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,282,393 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,196,484,000 after purchasing an additional 243,177 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $791,317,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,804,907 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $456,737,000 after purchasing an additional 402,981 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital by 17.1% in the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,735,296 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $239,022,000 after buying an additional 545,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $220,680,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $197.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $265.58.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $272.29 on Monday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $309.90. The firm's 50 day moving average is $255.24 and its 200-day moving average is $179.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.02%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $9,616,638.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total value of $5,108,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 623,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $159,288,807.84. The trade was a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 92,795 shares of company stock valued at $24,265,884 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus on tight high-capacity HDD supply for cloud/AI workloads and Western Digital’s expanded $4.0 billion share-repurchase authorization is supporting the rally; the company’s Innovation Day roadmap (40TB UltraSMR ePMR HDD in hyperscaler qualification) reinforces the growth narrative for AI storage. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Positive Sentiment: Customer narrative pieces highlight strong enterprise demand for hard drives, which backs the thesis that nearline/HDD capacity remains tight and pricing power could persist. Customer Narrative on Hard Drives Bodes Well for Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and relative performance remain constructive: WDC has materially outperformed the broader tech sector over the past year and multiple brokers maintain bullish ratings and elevated price targets, which provides momentum and buy-side interest. How Is Western Digital's Stock Performance Compared to Other Technology Stocks?
• Positive Sentiment: Media commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) have included WDC on watchlists as a name to buy on market dips, which can amplify flows when broader-market pullbacks occur. Cramer: Buy Western Digital, Micron, Seagate on oil-driven dips
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnership/solution announcements (e.g., VDURA combining WD Ultrastar hybrid platforms with cloud-scale AI file architecture) extend product reach but are incremental until they produce visible revenue/contract wins. VDURA to Combine Scalable WD Ultrastar Hybrid Storage Platforms with Cloud-Scale AI File Architecture
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy recently (multiple exec sales reported), which can be interpreted negatively by some investors and may weigh on sentiment despite company-level buybacks. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro pressure from rising oil and choppy futures can drag broader tech names; recent headlines show futures slipping as oil jumps, which can trigger short-term volatility for WDC. Dow Jones Futures Fall As Oil Prices Run Past $90; Oracle, Nvidia Lift These AI Names
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term pullbacks have occurred (coverage noting WDC fell more than the broader market), so momentum can reverse quickly after a sharp rally — watch valuation and volume on moves. Western Digital (WDC) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

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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