Ieq Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC acquired 195,864 Western Digital shares worth approximately $125.1 million, giving it a 0.06% stake and making WDC its 23rd-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56; several firms recently raised their targets, while Rosenblatt lowered its target but retained a “buy” rating.
• Western Digital exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.56 in adjusted EPS versus $3.31 expected and $3.75 billion in revenue, up 43.8% year over year. Shares opened at $459.44, down 2%, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 195,864 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $125,102,000. Western Digital makes up approximately 0.6% of Ieq Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Ieq Capital LLC owned 0.06% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 45.5% in the second quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 28.6% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $459.44 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $74.57 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The company has a market cap of $158.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $552.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $433.31.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.Western Digital's revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 114,539 shares in the company, valued at $60,663,290.57. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,679 shares of company stock valued at $11,451,605. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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