UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Raises Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 18.8%, holding 94,086 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million as of the last quarter.
• Insider trading activity was noted, with two insiders selling a total of 25,410 shares recently, indicating a decrease in their ownership stakes.
• Western Digital reported a 30% year-over-year revenue increase with a net income of $1.66 EPS, surpassing analyst expectations, as the company prepares a $2 billion share buyback program.

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 18.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,086 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,870 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Western Digital by 34.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 242.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at $13,687,602.84. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,148,052.40. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC traded up $1.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $97.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,751,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,927,552. The firm has a market cap of $34.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.63 and a 200-day moving average of $56.87. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $98.86.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.89.

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.