Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock Sold by Bokf Na

Key Points

• Bokf Na cut its Western Digital position by 58.8% in the third quarter, selling 12,620 shares and retaining 8,827 shares valued at approximately $4.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Western Digital reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.64 beating estimates of $4.11 and revenue of $4.38 billion rising 55.5% year over year. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.175 per share.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $591.04, despite several firms recently lowering their targets.

Bokf Na lessened its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 58.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,827 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 12,620 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na's holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 3,313 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 72.5% in the third quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 88 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the third quarter worth $39,000. Parametrica Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the third quarter worth $1,585,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR increased its stake in Western Digital by 6.4% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 32,578 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $14,805,000 after purchasing an additional 1,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $395.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $148.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $132.43 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $423.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $415.98.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.1750 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Western Digital from $540.00 to $430.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $591.04.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s fiscal first-quarter results showed strong momentum: revenue rose 55.5% year over year, while the company benefited from higher pricing, favorable product mix and growing demand for high-capacity nearline hard drives used in AI data centers. WDC Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Pricing Strength and Storage Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and financial commentators continue to identify substantial upside potential after the recent selloff. Zacks added WDC to its Rank #1 Strong Buy list, while two Wall Street firms reportedly view the decline as an attractive entry point. New Strong Buy Stocks for October 28th
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital and Seagate are both benefiting from AI-related storage expansion, with HDD revenue growing faster than unit shipments. However, comparisons favor Seagate on several measures, including return on equity, forward valuation and free-cash-flow generation, potentially limiting enthusiasm for WDC relative to its main rival. Western Digital vs. Seagate: Best AI Stock to Buy After Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: A broader pullback in memory and semiconductor stocks followed disappointing signals from Samsung, cooling the sector rally ahead of Sandisk’s earnings. Western Digital was caught in this industry-wide weakness, despite having different product exposure from memory-chip makers. Memory Sector Pullback
• Negative Sentiment: A reported Toshiba supply rumor previously triggered concern about future drive availability and competitive conditions. That overhang continues to weigh on sentiment even though Western Digital delivered record results and raised guidance. Western Digital Supply Concerns and Analyst Outlook

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $306,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,392,640. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Profile

Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ: WDC is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.

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