Corebridge Financial Inc. Lowers Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in Western Digital by 4.6%, owning 149,009 shares valued at approximately $6 million after selling 7,238 shares.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.51% of Western Digital's stock, indicating strong institutional backing.
• Western Digital's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $1.66, exceeding estimates, while the company has approved a $2 billion share buyback plan signaling confidence in its valuation.

Corebridge Financial Inc. decreased its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 149,009 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 7,238 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $6,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,736,003,000 after buying an additional 478,728 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $273,852,000 after buying an additional 881,088 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Western Digital by 1.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,449,811 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $139,476,000 after buying an additional 52,140 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Western Digital by 107.1% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $136,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Finally, Sachem Head Capital Management LP boosted 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 purchasing an additional 937,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total transaction of $28,557.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,218,682.50. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,361 shares of company stock valued at $3,006,534. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WDC. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. BNP Paribas restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.39.

Western Digital Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of WDC traded down $1.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $80.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,004,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,871,037. The stock has a market cap of $28.03 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $82.32. The company's fifty day moving average price is $71.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.36.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors 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 yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

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.