Swedbank AB Reduces Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has decreased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 30.6%, now owning 202,439 shares valued at approximately $8.2 million after selling 89,338 shares.
• Several hedge funds have either purchased new stakes or increased existing ones in Western Digital, with institutional investors now holding 92.51% of the stock.
• Western Digital recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10, with an annualized yield of 0.4%, reflecting its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 30.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 202,439 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 89,338 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.06% of Western Digital worth $8,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during 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 bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $106.63. 11,026,533 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,291,884. The firm has a market cap of $37.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.19 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. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $80.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.13. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $107.18.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WDC. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Western Digital to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.68.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 151,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.