Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Acquires 6,104 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 502.4% in Q1, acquiring 6,104 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 7,319 shares valued at $296,000.
• Western Digital recently reported a 30% year-over-year revenue increase for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $1.66, outperforming analyst expectations of $1.48.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.5%, with the payment set for September 18th.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 502.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,319 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,104 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $296,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,736,003,000 after buying an additional 478,728 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 23.7% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 881,088 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 worth $139,476,000 after buying an additional 52,140 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised 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 worth $136,222,000 after buying an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Finally, Sachem Head Capital Management LP raised its holdings 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 worth $176,976,000 after buying an additional 937,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.1%

WDC traded down $1.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.34. 5,004,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,060,305. The stock has a market cap of $28.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $82.32. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $70.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total transaction of $426,827.22. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 154,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,795,820.54. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,361 shares of company stock valued at $3,006,534 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WDC shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.39.

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.