Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Bought by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Western Digital by 534.6%, buying an additional 309,452 shares to hold 367,340 shares (about $63.3M), and several other large institutions also added sizable positions as institutional ownership sits around 92.51%.
• Analyst sentiment has turned broadly positive with multiple price‑target raises (e.g., Barclays $405, JPMorgan $400, Evercore $410), supported by AI‑driven memory/storage demand and a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”
• Western Digital recently beat estimates (Q reported EPS $2.13 vs $1.93, revenue $3.02B vs $2.93B) and is trading near a 52‑week high, but valuation concerns remain (market cap ≈ $131.9B, P/E ≈ 39) and some analysts warn multiples may be stretched.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 534.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 367,340 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 309,452 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.11% of Western Digital worth $63,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the third quarter worth $791,317,000. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 4,923.9% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $409,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339,225 shares in the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its stake 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 valued at $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at $221,800,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 175.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,071 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $78,347,000 after acquiring an additional 784,645 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised coverage and bumped WDC’s price target to $405 with an Overweight rating, reinforcing buy‑side momentum and supporting the rally. Barclays raises price target to $405
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan increased its price target to $400 and flagged WDC as a top memory/storage idea, lending credibility to the upside case and likely driving inflows. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley Bullish on Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Street sentiment has shifted broadly positive (Evercore and others), leaving consensus at a “Moderate Buy” — analyst upgrades are sustaining momentum into new highs. Analyst consensus and Evercore note
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwinds: AI‑fueled memory/storage demand is lifting peers (Micron, NAND names) and investors are repricing storage suppliers for stronger near‑term demand and margins. Micron surge / memory demand
• Neutral Sentiment: WD published its FY2025 Sustainability Report highlighting energy‑efficiency and recycled content initiatives — helpful for ESG positioning among large tech buyers but with limited immediate revenue impact. WD FY2025 Sustainability Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Management will present at Barclays, J.P. Morgan and BofA investor conferences in May–June — opportunities for guidance clarity, but informational until new guidance is given. WD to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Memory‑focused ETF flows (first dedicated memory ETF topping ~$1B AUM) are amplifying demand for the group — supportive for WDC as a large‑cap exposure but likely to increase volatility. Memory ETF hits $1B AUM
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider activity: Cynthia Tregillis sold 363 shares at ~$377 under a pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plan — a very small (<0.5%) trimming of a large holding and not a clear signal of deteriorating fundamentals. Insider sale disclosure
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: commentary from Zacks and others warns WDC’s rapid run to a 52‑week high may have stretched multiples — risk of a pullback if AI demand or margin assumptions disappoint. Zacks on valuation risks
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive/structural risk: comparisons with NAND‑focused peers (SanDisk) highlight different long‑term end‑market exposures; investors preferring pure NAND plays may cap WDC’s multiple over time. SanDisk vs. Western Digital analysis

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total value of $2,743,105.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 107,794 shares in the company, valued at $29,137,796.14. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total transaction of $5,108,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 623,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $159,288,807.84. This represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,711 shares of company stock worth $24,300,404. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $389.10 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $299.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.92. The firm has a market cap of $131.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.77. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $37.47 and a 1 year high of $402.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Western Digital from $325.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Western Digital from $260.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $310.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Evercore increased their price objective on Western Digital from $378.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.79.

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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