Western Digital Corporation $WDC is Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc.'s Largest Position

Key Points

• Maple Rock Capital Partners remains Western Digital’s largest investor position, despite trimming its stake by 3% in the second quarter. The firm held 1.36 million shares worth approximately $867.3 million, representing 17.2% of its portfolio.
• Western Digital reported quarterly earnings of $3.56 per share, exceeding estimates of $3.31, while revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion. The company issued first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85–$4.15.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, while insiders sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lowered its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,357,834 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 42,600 shares during the quarter. Western Digital comprises 17.2% of Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. owned 0.39% of Western Digital worth $867,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $450.55 on Tuesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $77.90 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $521.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $442.03. The stock has a market cap of $155.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 2.48%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 23,642 shares of company stock valued at $10,676,659 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Mizuho set a $590.00 price target on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.56.

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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