Hudson Canyon Capital Management Takes Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Hudson Canyon Capital Management opened a new position in Western Digital, buying 5,350 shares valued at about $1.45 million in the first quarter.
• Insider selling continued, with Director Bruce E. Kiddoo and insider Cynthia L. Tregillis both trimming their holdings; insiders sold 29,322 shares worth $12.77 million over the last quarter.
• Western Digital posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.12 to $0.15 per share while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus.

Hudson Canyon Capital Management bought a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,350 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,447,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 9.2% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 357 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 4,707 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 3,782 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total transaction of $235,699.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 116,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,640,420.80. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.4%

WDC stock opened at $563.32 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $560.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $379.58. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.79 and a 12-month high of $799.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is benefiting from a rebound in memory and storage stocks after Monday’s sector-wide drop tied to SK Hynix volatility and broader chip-market pressure. SK Hynix ADR Soars 19% as Leveraged ETFs Launch, Lifting Micron, SanDisk, Western Digital
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent analyst notes are bullish on WDC, with commentary citing strong demand, improving pricing, and the possibility of meaningful upside from current levels. Why Analysts Are Betting Western Digital Stock Can Gain Another 30% from Here
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s upcoming earnings report is in focus, and Wall Street is expecting a strong year-over-year profit jump, which could support the stock if results and guidance beat expectations. Western Digital's Quarterly Earnings Preview: What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: The company has confirmed it will report fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results on August 5, keeping earnings-related speculation elevated in the near term. WD to Announce Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results on August 5, 2026
• Negative Sentiment: WDC remains sensitive to swings in the AI-memory trade, and the stock was recently hit by a sharp sector pullback sparked by SK Hynix’s weak outlook and broader chip-market jitters. SK Hynix’s record plunge drags down global chip stocks

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WDC. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho increased their target price on Western Digital from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Digital from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.32.

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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