Korea Investment CORP Cuts Stock Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 18.3%, now holding approximately 198,967 shares worth $8,044,000.
• Western Digital's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.66 earnings per share against a consensus estimate of $1.48, with revenues rising by 30% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $2.00 billion share buyback program, indicating confidence in its stock valuation, and recently declared a $0.10 quarterly dividend payable on September 18th.

Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,967 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 44,709 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.06% of Western Digital worth $8,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 52.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 9,974 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $35,406,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 5.1% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $5,834,000 after buying an additional 6,947 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Western Digital by 6.8% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 89,244 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,608,000 after buying an additional 5,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 1.6% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 242,349 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $9,798,000 after buying an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,139 shares of company stock worth $1,485,812. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.39.

Western Digital Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of WDC opened at $76.97 on Friday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $68.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.96. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $78.80. The stock has a market cap of $26.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.58.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are 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 given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Western Digital 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.