Western Digital Corporation $WDC Holdings Lowered by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its Western Digital stake by 12.6% in the first quarter, selling 11,971 shares and leaving it with 83,123 shares valued at about $20.9 million.
• Western Digital continues to draw bullish AI/storage coverage, with reports saying it could benefit from rising data center and hyperscale storage demand as AI infrastructure expands.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and has since raised its dividend and seen multiple analysts lift price targets, even as the stock has faced some sector-wide volatility and pullbacks.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,123 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 11,971 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Western Digital were worth $20,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Avion Wealth lifted its position in Western Digital by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. BOKF NA boosted its stake in Western Digital by 6,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 272 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: New coverage says Western Digital is well positioned to benefit from global AI infrastructure growth, with rising demand for advanced memory and storage supporting a stronger long-term revenue outlook. 4 Top-Ranked Memory Stocks to Buy as AI Infrastructure Expands Globally
• Positive Sentiment: Another report highlighted Western Digital as one of two smaller AI storage names that could benefit from expanding data center demand, citing improving margins and earnings growth potential. Everyone's Buying NVIDIA, but 2 Smaller AI Stocks Could Soar Higher
• Positive Sentiment: A separate Zacks piece argues AI data growth is accelerating HDD demand and that Western Digital’s focused strategy could help it capture hyperscale storage opportunities. AI Data Growth is Exploding: Can Western Digital Keep Up?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market wrap-ups noted high volatility in tech and momentum stocks, which is adding noise to trading in Western Digital and other memory names. The Tech Shakeout: Market Extremes & Gavin Baker's Bold Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street commentary also flagged Western Digital as part of a broader AI-memory trade, with analysts still generally constructive but market sentiment swinging sharply day to day. Which Storage Stock Is Best Positioned to Win the AI Memory War?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports said Western Digital fell alongside SanDisk and Micron as investors took profits in semiconductor and memory stocks, reflecting sector-wide rotation rather than company-specific trouble. Nasdaq Slips as Chip Stocks Come Under Pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital also faced a post-rally pullback as traders reassessed how durable the AI-driven storage boom will be ahead of the company’s next earnings report and guidance. Why Western Digital (WDC) Stock Is Down Today

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total value of $235,699.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 116,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,640,420.80. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $477.22 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $66.04 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The business's fifty day moving average is $560.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $384.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The company's revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 3.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on Western Digital from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $685.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.32.

About Western Digital

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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