Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Purchased by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Western Digital by 93.3%, owning approximately 0.06% of the company worth $8.7 million after acquiring an additional 106,008 shares.
• Western Digital reported a quarterly EPS of $1.66, beating analysts' expectations, with revenues rising 30% year-over-year to $2.61 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, marking a 0.5% yield, with a low payout ratio of 7.77%.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 93.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 219,637 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 106,008 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.06% of Western Digital worth $8,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Western Digital by 8.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,933,278 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $118,574,000 after acquiring an additional 216,387 shares during the period. Robotti Robert grew its position in Western Digital by 3.6% during the first quarter. Robotti Robert now owns 86,530 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $3,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Western Digital by 14.5% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,560 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,588 shares during the period. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at about $2,341,000. Finally, LGT Group Foundation grew its position in Western Digital by 1.2% during the first quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 43,042 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of WDC opened at $75.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $78.80. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.66.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 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%.Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their target price on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.39.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $426,827.22. Following the sale, the insider owned 154,679 shares in the company, valued at $11,795,820.54. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,518 shares of company stock worth $831,479 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Western Digital

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.

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