Vident Advisory LLC Takes $214,000 Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC has acquired a new position in Western Digital Corporation, purchasing 5,287 shares valued at approximately $214,000.
• Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of Western Digital's stock, with several hedge funds significantly increasing their positions in the first quarter.
• Western Digital's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.66, exceeding analysts' expectations, and the company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.10.

Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,287 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,166,000 after buying an additional 9,974 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth $35,406,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,834,000 after buying an additional 6,947 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 89,244 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,608,000 after buying an additional 5,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,933,278 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $118,574,000 after buying an additional 216,387 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,975 shares of company stock valued at $3,935,806. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Western Digital from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.50.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.5%

Western Digital stock opened at $95.02 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $75.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $96.18. The stock has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Western Digital Company 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.

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