WINTON GROUP Ltd Cuts Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd sharply cut its Western Digital stake by 82.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,587 shares and leaving it with 3,804 shares valued at about $655,000.
• Western Digital reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 versus estimates of $2.39 and revenue of $3.34 billion, up 45.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.13, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and multiple price-target increases.

WINTON GROUP Ltd reduced its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 82.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,804 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 17,587 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in Western Digital were worth $655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WDC. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter worth about $34,244,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. grew its stake in Western Digital by 399.8% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 32,487 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,900,000 after purchasing an additional 25,987 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 9,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 4,068 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,270,000. Finally, WESPAC Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $793,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Down 5.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $490.09 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $436.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.37. The company has a market cap of $168.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26 and a beta of 2.13. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $54.60 and a 12-month high of $602.54.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. This is a boost from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 3.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WDC. Bank of America lifted their target price on Western Digital to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Western Digital from $500.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Western Digital from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their target price on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $433.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Western Digital after recent AI-related strength, with Mizuho lifting its price target from $550 to $685 and keeping an Outperform rating, while Citi also reportedly raised its target. Mizuho and Citi Raise Western Digital (WDC) Price Targets
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital continues to draw bullish attention from brokerages, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating signaling generally favorable expectations for the stock. Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ: WDC Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market commentary pieces highlighted Western Digital as a trending or attention-worthy stock, reflecting elevated investor interest rather than a clear new fundamental catalyst. Here's Why We Think Western Digital NASDAQ: WDC Might Deserve Your Attention Today
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital fell alongside other semiconductor and storage names after a hotter CPI reading revived inflation and rate-hike concerns, pressuring the broader sector. IPG Photonics, Western Digital, and Skyworks Solutions Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage stocks sold off broadly, with Western Digital declining more than the market as investors rotated out of the group amid weaker risk sentiment. Micron Sinks 6%, Western Digital Falls 5% but SanDisk Holds Steady

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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