Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock Holdings Reduced by Park West Asset Management LLC

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 cut its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 850,000 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 80,000 shares during the period. Western Digital makes up approximately 2.8% of Park West Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Park West Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Western Digital worth $34,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 242.2% during 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 buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ WDC traded up $1.12 on Thursday, hitting $96.14. 6,983,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,933,771. The company's 50-day moving average price is $75.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $97.78. The company has a market capitalization of $33.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $239,148.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 31,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. The trade was a 9.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays upped their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.89.

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.