Tobam Buys 6,616 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Tobam dramatically increased its Western Digital stake in the fourth quarter, buying 6,616 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 7,208 shares worth about $1.24 million.
• Western Digital posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 beating estimates and revenue of $3.34 billion topping expectations, helped by a 45.5% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Analyst sentiment and industry trends remain upbeat, with multiple firms raising price targets on WDC amid stronger AI data center and cloud storage demand, while the company also recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share.

Tobam lifted its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 1,117.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,616 shares during the period. Tobam's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Avion Wealth grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. BOKF NA increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 272 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC opened at $746.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.55 and a beta of 2.13. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.66 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $487.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $327.17.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. The company's revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 3.58%.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is benefiting from surging demand tied to AI data centers and cloud storage, which is boosting investor confidence in the company’s earnings outlook. Western Digital stock surges on AI demand; Morgan Stanley bullish on WDC
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its view on WDC, reinforcing the idea that the stock still has room to run after the recent rally. Morgan Stanley Raises Price Target on Western Digital (WDC). Here is Why
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s earnings were said to nearly double on strong AI and cloud demand, which supports the recent move up in the shares. Western Digital Earnings Nearly Double on AI, Cloud Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s comments about unavoidable memory price hikes helped lift the broader memory/storage group, including WDC, by improving the pricing backdrop for the industry. SanDisk Jumps 11%, Western Digital Rises 7% After Apple Flags “Unavoidable” Memory Price Hikes

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $450.46.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total value of $235,699.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,640,420.80. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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