Quantbot Technologies LP Buys Shares of 60,116 Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP purchased 60,116 shares of Western Digital Corporation (WDC), valued at approximately $2.43 million, signaling increased institutional interest in the company.
• Western Digital recently reported earnings of $1.66 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and indicating a 30% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and a significant share repurchase plan of $2 billion, reflecting confidence in its stock valuation.

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 60,116 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,430,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $75.64 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.80. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $78.80. The company has a market cap of $26.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WDC. Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark upped their price target on Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush upped their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. 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, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.39.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,518 shares of company stock valued at $831,479. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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