Saudi Central Bank Has $15.47 Million Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Saudi Central Bank increased its Western Digital stake by 91.9% in the second quarter, holding 24,223 shares valued at approximately $15.47 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $534.56, although targets range widely from $590 to $1,050.
• Western Digital exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $3.56 in EPS and $3.75 billion in revenue, but elevated valuation and recent insider selling—including $10.44 million in sales over 90 days—remain potential risks.

Saudi Central Bank raised its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 91.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,223 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,603 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in Western Digital were worth $15,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho set a $590.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Western Digital from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $534.56.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: A broad rally in memory stocks lifted Western Digital alongside SK Hynix and Seagate. Investors appear to be responding to stronger memory pricing, supply tightness and continued demand from artificial-intelligence data centers. SK Hynix Surges 7% as Memory Bid Widens Beyond NAND; Seagate Rallies 5%
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s investment case is supported by AI-driven storage growth, higher hard-disk-drive pricing and expanding margins. Recent earnings also showed revenue growth and earnings above consensus, while management’s next-quarter guidance points to continued momentum. WDC Stock's Big Rally: Buy, Sell, or Hold After a 70% 6-Month Surge?
• Positive Sentiment: China’s progress in memory manufacturing is not viewed as an immediate threat because Western Digital and peers reportedly have capacity committed under multiyear contracts. That could help protect near-term pricing and margins. Why China’s Memory Chip Breakthrough Won't Crash the Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with reported price targets above the current trading level, but the stock’s sharp six-month advance has made expectations demanding. Investors are watching whether future earnings estimates can justify the valuation. WDC Stock's Big Rally: Buy, Sell, or Hold After a 70% 6-Month Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider transactions have consisted of sales rather than purchases, including a director’s sale of roughly $2.5 million in shares. Insider selling and profit-taking previously pressured WDC, while the stock’s elevated valuation leaves it vulnerable if storage-sector momentum fades. Western Digital Falls as Sector Weakness and Insider Selling Weigh on Shares

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $467.46 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $91.43 and a one year high of $799.87. The firm has a market cap of $161.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.13. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $506.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $445.72.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 2.48%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,210 shares of company stock worth $10,440,960. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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