United Services Automobile Association Buys New Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Western Digital Corporation, purchasing 7,786 shares valued at approximately $316,000.
• Analysts have set a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating for Western Digital with an average price target of $81.89, following several upgrades from firms like Barclays and TD Cowen.
• Western Digital reported earnings of $1.66 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues increasing by 30.0% year-over-year to $2.61 billion.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,786 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,080 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $354,000. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth $813,000. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $3,882,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $606,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wedbush upped their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark increased their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.44.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.8%

WDC traded up $4.73 during trading on Monday, hitting $102.39. 12,520,344 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,266,723. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $35.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.69. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $103.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.69.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total value of $239,148.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at $2,388,460.80. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock valued at $3,935,806. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About Western Digital

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.