Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Acquired by Van ECK Associates Corp

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates Corp increased its Western Digital stake by 17,104.6% in the second quarter, owning 63,141 shares valued at approximately $40.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of WDC.
• Western Digital reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.56 per share, above estimates. The company guided to $3.85–$4.15 in next-quarter EPS.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $534.56 price target, although some firms recently downgraded the stock. Insiders sold 26,117 shares worth about $12.1 million over the past 90 days under pre-arranged trading plans.

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 17,104.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,141 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 62,774 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Western Digital were worth $40,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 112,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,117 shares of company stock worth $12,053,353. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s long-term outlook remains supported by demand for AI infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise storage, automotive systems and other data-intensive applications. Analysts at Zacks continue to identify WDC as a potential beneficiary of strong memory and storage demand, particularly following Nvidia’s solid results. 4 High-Flying Memory and Storage Giants
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results provide fundamental support: revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, while earnings of $3.56 per share exceeded expectations. Guidance for $3.85 to $4.15 in next-quarter EPS also remains constructive.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus remains bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target above the current trading level. Several firms have cited continued AI and storage demand as reasons for further upside. Wall Street’s Bullish Views on WDC
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Cynthia Tregillis sold a small portion of her holdings under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transactions modestly reduce her position but do not necessarily signal deteriorating confidence. Cynthia Tregillis Insider Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage stocks sold off even after Nvidia reported strong results, suggesting investors are taking profits from an extended AI trade and differentiating among suppliers. Western Digital’s underperformance versus peers has amplified concern that expectations or valuation may have become too aggressive. Why Memory Stocks Fell Despite Nvidia’s Results

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Fox Advisors downgraded Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research 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.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $459.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $158.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14. 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 $526.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $439.63.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

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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