Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 4,155 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 8.3%, acquiring an additional 4,155 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 54,161 shares valued at approximately $2.19 million.
• Western Digital's stock has been upgraded by various analysts, including Zacks Research and JPMorgan Chase & Co., with the average analyst rating now categorized as "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $78.39.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, as well as a $2 billion share buyback program, reflecting confidence in its stock value.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,161 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,155 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 52.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 9,974 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at $35,406,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.1% during the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,834,000 after acquiring an additional 6,947 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,711 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WDC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total transaction of $426,827.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 154,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,795,820.54. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,518 shares of company stock valued at $831,479 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.3%

WDC opened at $75.64 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $67.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.80. The firm has a market cap of $26.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $78.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Western Digital declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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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