Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Western Digital Corporation by 19.1%, selling 23,209 shares and bringing its total ownership to 98,401 shares valued at approximately $3.98 million.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes significantly, with Nishkama Capital LLC expanding its shareholding by 682.6%, now owning 586,129 shares worth around $23.7 million.
• Western Digital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and a $2 billion share repurchase plan, indicating the board's belief that shares are undervalued.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 19.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 98,401 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 23,209 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 1.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 478,728 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 23.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 881,088 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Western Digital by 1.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 52,140 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Western Digital by 107.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $136,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Finally, Sachem Head Capital Management LP increased its stake in Western Digital by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,967,900 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $176,976,000 after purchasing an additional 937,900 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC traded down $1.70 on Monday, hitting $80.34. 5,004,383 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,871,037. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $71.26 and its 200 day moving average is $55.36. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $82.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the transaction, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. This represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total transaction of $28,557.70. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 27,425 shares in the company, valued at $2,218,682.50. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,361 shares of company stock worth $3,006,534 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.