Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock Holdings Lessened by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Western Digital stake by 31.6% in the second quarter, selling 8,693 shares and retaining 18,844 shares valued at approximately $12.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Western Digital exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $3.56 in EPS on $3.75 billion in revenue, up 43.8% year over year. Management cited stronger AI-driven storage demand and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $534.56, but recent downgrades, insider selling and concerns about valuation and the cyclical memory upcycle are weighing on the stock.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 31.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,844 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 8,693 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $12,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 9.2% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 357 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 132 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $703,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $3.75 billion and net income of $3.20 billion, while full-year revenue reached $12.92 billion. Results exceeded expectations, and management said AI customers are negotiating multiyear storage agreements, improving demand visibility as data-intensive workloads expand. Western Digital earnings and dividend article
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a $0.15-per-share cash dividend payable in September 2026, adding shareholder returns to an already strong earnings-growth narrative. Western Digital has also been highlighted as a potentially attractive discounted opportunity within the memory sector after its pullback. Memory sector stock article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary points to a broader memory-industry correction. SanDisk’s dramatic post-spinoff rally and subsequent pullback, along with Micron’s AI-related gains, are increasing volatility across storage and memory stocks. These developments may support long-term demand for Western Digital but also raise concerns about crowded AI trades and sector-wide profit taking. SanDisk breakout article
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have become more cautious after the earnings rally. Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital to “Hold,” while Rosenblatt Securities lowered its price target to $800. The downgrades reinforce concerns that much of the expected AI and memory upside may already be reflected in the stock. Western Digital analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also questioning the durability of the cyclical upcycle. Commentary highlights Western Digital’s elevated valuation and the risk that memory shortages, supply responses or weaker demand could eventually pressure margins. Those concerns are contributing to the stock’s post-earnings decline despite strong reported results. Western Digital valuation and cycle article

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,093 shares of company stock worth $2,751,337. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Summit Insights cut shares of Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $438.34 on Tuesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $73.14 and a 12-month high of $799.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 2.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $563.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $420.25.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The business's revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 18.21 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

About Western Digital

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.

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