Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC has acquired a new position in Western Digital Corporation with 96,008 shares valued at approximately $3.88 million, as reported in their recent SEC filing.
• Western Digital's Q1 2026 guidance projects earnings per share between 1.540 and 1.690, following solid earnings of $1.66 EPS for the previous quarter.
• The company has initiated a $2 billion share buyback plan and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, signaling confidence in its stock valuation.

Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 96,008 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,882,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Western Digital by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,736,003,000 after acquiring an additional 478,728 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 130.0% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $203,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842,822 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in 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 valued at $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $139,476,000 after purchasing an additional 52,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 107.1% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $136,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $654,333.90. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the sale, the insider owned 151,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock valued at $3,935,806. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $1.25 on Tuesday, reaching $94.54. 6,357,889 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,993,815. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $95.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.44 and a 200-day moving average of $56.27. The firm has a market cap of $32.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm 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 was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Western Digital announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.