Twin Capital Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Twin Capital Management opened a new position in Western Digital, buying 5,922 shares valued at about $1.6 million in the first quarter.
• Western Digital reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 on revenue of $3.34 billion, both above analyst estimates, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share.
• The stock has seen mixed sentiment: it has fallen 8.8% recently amid broader memory-sector selling, even as analysts remain generally bullish with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $520.32.

Twin Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,922 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,602,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. BOKF NA lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Down 8.8%

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $513.84 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $177.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 2.11. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $560.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $381.93. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $65.79 and a 12-month high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The business 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 business earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction of $8,236,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $246,342,096. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Western Digital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $685.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Western Digital from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.32.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive on Western Digital, with one report suggesting the stock could still have meaningful upside from current levels thanks to improving memory pricing and AI-driven demand. Why Analysts Are Betting Western Digital Stock Can Gain Another 30% from Here
• Positive Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces argue that Western Digital and other memory stocks may look attractive after the recent sell-off because of lower valuations, better supply-demand trends, and ongoing AI-related storage demand. Why You Must Buy These 4 Memory Stocks After the Recent Sell-Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s upcoming earnings preview is drawing attention, but no new company-specific results were reported in these articles. Western Digital's Quarterly Earnings Preview: What You Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are being hit by broad profit-taking across memory stocks after a sharp rally this year, with traders locking in gains in Western Digital, Micron, SanDisk, and peers. SK Hynix Drops 5%, SanDisk Slides 6%, Western Digital Slips 4% as Traders Take Profits in Memory Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital also fell after CXMT’s reported $10 billion IPO plans raised fears of a stronger new competitor entering the memory market, adding to concerns about future pricing and margins. Western Digital Stock Tumbles as CXMT Targets $10 Billion Shanghai IPO
• Negative Sentiment: Another market wrap noted that Western Digital was down sharply as the broader chip selloff weighed on the memory sector. Western Digital (WDC) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts

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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