BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Cuts Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S has decreased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 71.9%, owning only 8,386 shares after selling 21,483 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Western Digital reported a 30% increase in revenue year-over-year for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $1.66, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.48.
• The company has approved a $2 billion stock repurchase plan to buy back up to 11.7% of its shares, reflecting the management's belief in the current undervaluation of its stock.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 71.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,386 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 21,483 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Western Digital were worth $339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 107.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $136,222,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $68,950,000. Atalan Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,612,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its position in Western Digital by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $176,976,000 after buying an additional 937,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $55,456,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of WDC traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $79.71. The company had a trading volume of 8,721,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,462,268. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $69.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $80.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The firm's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 7.77%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,148,052.40. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at $10,121,547.78. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,194 shares of company stock valued at $2,913,589 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.39.

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.