Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its stake in Western Digital by 2.2% in Q4, selling 933,733 shares and leaving it with 42,348,660 shares (about 12.39% of the company) valued at roughly $7.295 billion.
• WDC has seen large YTD gains (reported up ~135%) as multiple banks raised price targets (e.g., Barclays to $405, BofA to $415) and optimism about AI/datacenter storage supporting HDD/SSD pricing has driven buying ahead of late‑April earnings.
• Risk signals: insiders sold 92,711 shares (~$24.3M) in the last 90 days and institutional ownership is high (92.51%), while rapid gains to new 52‑week highs leave WDC's valuation and momentum exposed to a sharp pullback if AI demand or margins disappoint.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,348,660 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 933,733 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.39% of Western Digital worth $7,295,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 12.3% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,317 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $6,281,000 after buying an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at approximately $641,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,244,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 75.4% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 9,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 4,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. lifted its position in Western Digital by 399.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 32,487 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,900,000 after acquiring an additional 25,987 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays bumped its price target to $405 and kept an Overweight rating, a high‑profile upgrade that likely triggered buy orders and helped lift sentiment. Barclays Raises its Price Target on Western Digital (WDC) to $405
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price‑target raises from multiple banks (JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, BofA, etc.) alongside expectations for an earnings beat have amplified buying ahead of WDC’s late‑April print. Analysts lift price targets ahead of late‑April earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Market narrative: strong AI/datacenter storage demand is supporting HDD/SSD pricing and margins — a theme that has propelled WDC to large YTD gains as investors reposition into “AI infrastructure” names. Western Digital Stock Is Up 135% This Year – Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Memory‑themed ETF inflows and sector momentum (Micron and peers rallying) are boosting demand for large‑cap exposure to storage, indirectly supporting WDC’s multiple. Memory ETF hits $1B AUM
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital published its FY2025 Sustainability Report highlighting energy and recycled‑content initiatives — positive for ESG positioning but with limited immediate revenue impact. Western Digital ESG Progress Puts Sustainability In Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider transactions disclose small, pre‑arranged sales (Rule 10b5‑1) — routine and not signaling management panic, though often monitored by investors. Cynthia Tregillis Sells 363 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and momentum risk: rapid gains to new 52‑week highs leave WDC’s multiple extended — a disappointment in AI demand or margins could trigger a sharp pullback. Is Western Digital Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold After Hitting a 52‑Week High?
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/structural risks: differences between NAND‑focused peers and HDD exposure mean longer‑term market dynamics could favor some competitors, potentially capping WDC’s longer‑term multiple. SanDisk vs. Western Digital

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $404.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $39.90 and a 1 year high of $416.37. The company has a market cap of $136.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.77. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $304.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.59.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 5.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total transaction of $5,108,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,288,807.84. The trade was a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total transaction of $2,743,105.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 107,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,137,796.14. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,711 shares of company stock worth $24,300,404. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on Western Digital from $375.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $378.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $310.00 target price on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $310.79.

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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