Western Digital Corporation $WDC Position Lessened by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• China Universal Asset Management cut its Western Digital stake by 18.3% in the third quarter, selling 4,479 shares and retaining 19,999 shares valued at approximately $9.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of WDC.
• Western Digital reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.64 exceeding estimates of $4.11 and revenue rising 55.5% year over year to $4.38 billion, driven partly by demand for high-capacity storage used in AI data centers.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.175 per share from $0.15, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $591.04; however, recent insider selling and broader weakness in memory and semiconductor stocks remain potential concerns.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,999 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 4,479 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $9,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% during the third quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,313 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 72.5% in the 3rd quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 88 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Parametrica Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,585,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its position in Western Digital by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 32,578 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $14,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 25,436 shares of company stock valued at $11,340,064 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.3%

WDC stock opened at $395.41 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $423.52 and its 200 day moving average is $415.98. The stock has a market cap of $148.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $132.43 and a 1-year high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 69.20% and a return on equity of 55.62%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.1750 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.33%.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s fiscal first-quarter results showed strong momentum: revenue rose 55.5% year over year, while the company benefited from higher pricing, favorable product mix and growing demand for high-capacity nearline hard drives used in AI data centers. WDC Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Pricing Strength and Storage Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and financial commentators continue to identify substantial upside potential after the recent selloff. Zacks added WDC to its Rank #1 Strong Buy list, while two Wall Street firms reportedly view the decline as an attractive entry point. New Strong Buy Stocks for October 28th
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital and Seagate are both benefiting from AI-related storage expansion, with HDD revenue growing faster than unit shipments. However, comparisons favor Seagate on several measures, including return on equity, forward valuation and free-cash-flow generation, potentially limiting enthusiasm for WDC relative to its main rival. Western Digital vs. Seagate: Best AI Stock to Buy After Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: A broader pullback in memory and semiconductor stocks followed disappointing signals from Samsung, cooling the sector rally ahead of Sandisk’s earnings. Western Digital was caught in this industry-wide weakness, despite having different product exposure from memory-chip makers. Memory Sector Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: A reported Toshiba supply rumor previously triggered concern about future drive availability and competitive conditions. That overhang continues to weigh on sentiment even though Western Digital delivered record results and raised guidance. Western Digital Supply Concerns and Analyst Outlook

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WDC. Zacks Research lowered shares of Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $591.04.

Western Digital Profile

Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ: WDC is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.

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