State of Wyoming Acquires 4,572 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• The State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 354.1%, acquiring an additional 4,572 shares, bringing its total to 5,863 shares valued at $237,000.
• Western Digital reported $1.66 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.48 EPS, with a revenue increase of 30% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and authorized a $2.00 billion stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in its undervalued stock.

State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 354.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,863 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,572 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming's holdings in Western Digital were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WDC. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.28.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total value of $28,557.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,218,682.50. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.04. 20,309,360 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,167,732. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $93.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $73.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.69. 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 (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 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 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.