Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Acquired by Jump Financial LLC

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 18.4% during the first quarter, owning 80,000 shares valued at $3.23 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Western Digital, with Barclays increasing their target from $50 to $80, while Zacks upgraded the stock to a "strong-buy" rating.
• Western Digital recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a payout ratio of 7.77%, and has authorized a $2 billion share buyback program.

Jump Financial LLC grew its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 18.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 80,000 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,436 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 28.0% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,940 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Allstate Corp raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 87.2% during the 1st quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 19,170 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 8,929 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 16,707 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $563,000. Finally, MIG Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $336,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,148,052.40. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $239,148.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,388,460.80. This represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,361 shares of company stock worth $3,006,534. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.39.

Western Digital Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.34. 5,004,383 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,060,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $28.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.58. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $70.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.45. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $82.32.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.