Western Digital Corporation $WDC Holdings Lifted by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in Western Digital by 87.2%, adding 8,929 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 19,170 shares valued at $775,000.
• Western Digital's stock price has risen 3.1%, with current trading at $76.97 and a market cap of $26.85 billion.
• The company reported earnings of $1.66 per share, surpassing expectations, with revenue increasing by 30.0% year-over-year to $2.61 billion.

Allstate Corp boosted its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 87.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,170 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 8,929 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Western Digital were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,736,003,000 after buying an additional 478,728 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $273,852,000 after buying an additional 881,088 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Western Digital by 1.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $139,476,000 after buying an additional 52,140 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Western Digital by 107.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $136,222,000 after buying an additional 1,742,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $176,976,000 after purchasing an additional 937,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $76.97 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $68.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.83. The company has a market cap of $26.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $78.80.

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

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $426,827.22. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 154,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,795,820.54. This represents a 3.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,139 shares of company stock valued at $1,485,812. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Barclays increased their price target on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.39.

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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