Western Digital Corporation $WDC is UNICOM Systems Inc.'s 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• UNICOM Systems increased its Western Digital stake by 12.3% in the second quarter to 101,600 shares valued at about $64.9 million, making WDC its ninth-largest holding and representing 4.2% of its portfolio.
• Western Digital reported quarterly revenue of $3.75 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.56, beating estimates amid strong AI-related cloud-storage demand and higher-capacity drive sales. However, the stock fell as margin guidance failed to meet elevated expectations following its sharp AI-driven rally.
• Institutional investors own 92.51% of WDC, while analysts maintain a broadly positive view with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $534.56 price target.

UNICOM Systems Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,600 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 11,100 shares during the period. Western Digital accounts for approximately 4.2% of UNICOM Systems Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. UNICOM Systems Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $64,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $456,884,000 after purchasing an additional 384,103 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 70.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $512,107,000 after buying an additional 1,228,661 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,809,409 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $483,977,000 after buying an additional 159,167 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $3.75 billion, up about 44% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $3.56 per share—both ahead of Wall Street expectations. Growth was supported by AI-related cloud storage demand, stronger pricing, and higher-capacity hard-disk drives. Western Digital Q4 Earnings Beat as Revenue Jumps 44% on Cloud Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted strong visibility into AI-storage demand, with some customers negotiating capacity commitments through 2031. The company also expects continued margin expansion, while analysts remain broadly constructive; recent price targets include $630 from Baird and a $575 median across 15 analysts. Western Digital Says AI Customers Are Already Negotiating Storage Deals Through 2031
• Neutral Sentiment: The selloff is part of a broader rotation within semiconductor and memory stocks. Investors have been shifting toward AI networking leaders, while comparing Western Digital’s results with stronger results from rival Seagate Technology. Western Digital Slumps Despite Q2 Beat as Analysts Highlight Peer Seagate’s Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, payable September 17 to shareholders of record September 8. The dividend provides a modest shareholder return but is unlikely to drive the near-term trading reaction.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors viewed fiscal-first-quarter 2027 gross-margin guidance of 55%–56% as insufficiently strong after the stock’s dramatic advance and elevated expectations. Although the outlook implies sequential improvement, it trailed the bar set by Seagate and was interpreted as evidence that the recent margin expansion may be stabilizing. Western Digital Shares Fall as Margin Outlook Tempers Strong Q4 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking intensified because Western Digital had already rallied sharply on the AI-storage theme. The strong earnings beat therefore failed to exceed the market’s unusually high expectations, prompting a valuation reset and technical concerns around support levels. Sandisk, Western Digital Drag on Chip Stocks as Lofty Expectations Eclipse Strong Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity has been heavily tilted toward selling, with 129 sales and no purchases over the past six months. While such transactions may reflect diversification or compensation, the lack of insider buying adds to near-term investor caution.

Western Digital Stock Down 3.8%

WDC opened at $434.30 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $565.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $417.35. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.14 and a 52 week high of $799.87. The stock has a market cap of $149.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.94 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The company's revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 3.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 5,093 shares of company stock valued at $2,751,337 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WDC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $676.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Western Digital 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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