UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• UBS AM reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 27.4%, selling over 1.2 million shares during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of approximately $134.75 million worth of stock.
• Several hedge funds made new investments or increased their positions in Western Digital, with notable increases from Allworth Financial LP and Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc..
• Western Digital reported strong earnings for the last quarter with $1.66 EPS, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share scheduled for September 18th.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC decreased its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 27.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,332,954 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 1,259,562 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.96% of Western Digital worth $134,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WDC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 34.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $49,000 after buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $4.73 during trading on Monday, reaching $102.39. The stock had a trading volume of 12,520,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,266,723. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $103.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.69. The stock has a market cap of $35.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at $13,687,602.84. The trade was a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WDC. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.44.

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.