Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stake Increased by Czech National Bank

Key Points

• Czech National Bank increased its Western Digital stake by 6.3% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 98,110 shares valued at approximately $62.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.51% of WDC.
• Western Digital reported quarterly EPS of $3.56 and revenue of $3.75 billion, beating estimates, while revenue rose 43.8% year over year. Strong cloud and AI-related storage demand helped drive results, and the company issued better-than-expected next-quarter guidance.
• WDC shares opened at $451.52, down 13.0%, despite positive earnings and analyst sentiment; the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $536.96. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.

Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 98,110 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,774 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Western Digital were worth $62,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, BOKF NA boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 272 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 13.0%

Shares of WDC opened at $451.52 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $567.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $417.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $73.14 and a 12-month high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 50.22% and a net margin of 72.95%.Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 3.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 114,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,663,290.57. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 5,093 shares of company stock valued at $2,751,337 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported adjusted earnings of $3.56 per share, above the $3.31 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, also exceeding forecasts. Western Digital Q4 Earnings Beat as Revenue Jumps 44% on Cloud Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited strong cloud and AI-related storage demand, pricing gains and adoption of higher-capacity products. The company said some AI customers are negotiating storage capacity commitments through 2031, providing long-term demand visibility. Western Digital Says AI Customers Are Already Negotiating Storage Deals Through 2031
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue guidance of $4.0 billion to $4.2 billion and adjusted EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.15 were above consensus estimates. Several analysts maintained bullish views, including Baird, which raised its price target to $630. Western Digital Earns Buy Rating as Analyst Lifts Price Target to $630

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Western Digital and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Western Digital from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $536.96.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WDC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source