Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $1.50 Million Stock Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,966 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 8,500 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 242.2% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,477,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,700,381. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $67.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $78.80.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid 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 of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 7.77%.

Western Digital declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 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 other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 5,597 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total transaction of $426,827.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 154,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,795,820.54. The trade was a 3.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,518 shares of company stock worth $831,479 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by 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.