Robotti Robert Takes $13.91 Million Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Robotti Robert acquired 21,771 Western Digital shares worth approximately $13.91 million, making WDC 2.2% of its portfolio; institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the stock.
• Western Digital beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $3.56 versus $3.31 expected and revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year. The company also declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $534.56, though insider selling and pressure from higher Treasury yields have increased volatility around the AI-driven storage rally.

Robotti Robert bought a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 21,771 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,906,000. Western Digital comprises 2.2% of Robotti Robert's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Western Digital by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 229.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 55.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $152,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $496.16 on Wednesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $73.14 and a 52-week high of $799.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 2.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $556.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $430.29.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.48%.

Western Digital News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital continues to benefit from improving earnings expectations, stronger storage pricing, and AI-driven cloud demand. Recent coverage characterized the company as a momentum candidate, while its latest results exceeded analyst estimates and management provided a strong fiscal 2027 outlook. Why Western Digital Is a Great Momentum Choice
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators remain constructive on the broader memory and storage cycle, citing supply constraints, rising demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure, and potential for continued earnings growth. Jim Cramer on Memory and Storage Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock’s recent rally was supported by bullish commentary about a potential memory bottleneck and by optimism surrounding the company’s margins and forecast-beating outlook. Those gains have left WDC and its peers more sensitive to profit-taking and changes in investor sentiment. Western Digital Stock Jumps as Memory Rally Accelerates
• Negative Sentiment: Rising Treasury yields are pressuring richly valued AI and semiconductor-related shares, encouraging investors to rotate away from the extended memory trade. Western Digital is declining alongside Micron and SanDisk despite the absence of a company-specific negative announcement. Higher Rates Test the Memory Boom
• Negative Sentiment: A Wall Street Journal report concerning previously undisclosed AI spending commitments appears to have intensified concerns about AI-related valuations and corporate spending, weighing on the entire memory and storage group. WSJ Report Sends Memory Stocks Down

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,093 shares of company stock worth $11,650,737. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $676.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Profile

Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.

Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.

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