Korea Investment CORP Acquires 82,434 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Western Digital by 29.9%, buying 82,434 shares to hold 358,512 shares worth about $43.0 million (≈0.10% of the company) at quarter end.
• Western Digital completed the spin‑off of its flash business to become a pure‑play HDD supplier, reportedly selling ~<$3.1B> and securing long‑term hyperscaler deals that fully book HDD production through at least 2028, boosting cash, reducing leverage and prompting analyst target upgrades.
• Insider selling has been notable recently — including a director sale of 36,926 shares and the CEO selling 20,000 shares — with insiders offloading 84,277 shares worth about $22.1 million in the last 90 days, which could temper near‑term sentiment.

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 29.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 358,512 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 82,434 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.10% of Western Digital worth $43,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $307,000. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $231,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company completed the spin‑off of its flash business and repositioned as a pure‑play HDD supplier, reportedly selling a ~$3.1B stake and securing long‑term hyperscaler agreements that fully book HDD production through at least 2028 — this improves cash, reduces leverage and gives multi‑year revenue visibility. Western Digital Bets On Pure HDD Future With Hyperscaler AI Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Management and analysts highlight sold‑out nearline/HDD capacity for 2026 and guidance pointing to material revenue and margin expansion driven by AI (video, large‑model data), underpinning a structural re‑rating story. Western Digital: AI's Unsung Storage Backbone
• Neutral Sentiment: Options flow and institutional activity show heightened trading interest — large option bets and increased analyst coverage keep liquidity high but also increase short‑term volatility. Western Digital's Options: A Look at What the Big Money is Thinking
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer retail promotions and pricing anomalies (e.g., SSD deals) create short‑term retail noise but have limited impact on the enterprise HDD thesis that’s driving the stock. This 2TB WD SN850X is cheaper from Walmart than the equivalent 1TB model in a strange deal
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales were disclosed (senior execs sold shares on March 4), which can sap near‑term sentiment even if sales are for diversification; investors often view clustered executive selling as a caution flag. Western Digital NASDAQ: WDC Insider Sells $2,501,349.48 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn of valuation and cyclical peak risk — some argue recent gains price in peak AI storage demand and a pullback or normalization in hyperscaler buying could trigger downside. Market anxiety after a very large prior run (and a recent sharp sell‑off episode) contributes to heavier profit‑taking. Western Digital: Strong AI Tailwinds, But Valuation Signals Cyclical Peak Risk What Drove WDC Stock's Historic 490% Jump

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $9,616,638.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total transaction of $5,108,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,288,807.84. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 84,277 shares of company stock worth $22,091,068 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of WDC stock opened at $245.25 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $83.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $246.38 and a 200-day moving average of $173.21. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $309.90.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WDC. Barclays lifted their target price on Western Digital from $240.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Western Digital to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Argus set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Western Digital to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $265.58.

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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