Park West Asset Management LLC Sells 80,000 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Park West Asset Management LLC has sold 80,000 shares of Western Digital Corporation, decreasing its ownership by 8.6%, leaving it with 850,000 shares, making up 2.8% of its investment portfolio.
• Insider sales have been reported, with Vidyadhara K. Gubbi and Cynthia L. Tregillis selling 11,343 and 14,067 shares, respectively, resulting in significant decreases in their holdings.
• Western Digital's stock recently displayed a price increase of 1.7%, has a market cap of $32.11 billion, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, reflecting a low annual dividend yield of 0.4%.

Park West Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 850,000 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 80,000 shares during the quarter. Western Digital accounts for about 2.8% of Park West Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Park West Asset Management LLC owned 0.24% of Western Digital worth $34,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.7%

Western Digital stock opened at $92.04 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $32.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.69. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $93.10.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.Western Digital's revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WDC. BNP Paribas reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush boosted their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark boosted their price target on Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.28.

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.

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