Primecap Management Co. CA Invests $329.86 Million in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 516,440 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $329,861,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $271,565,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,602,927,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $120,877,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $288,000. Finally, L2 Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,228,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Western Digital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,384 shares of company stock worth $11,753,463. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 3.5%

WDC stock opened at $450.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $543.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $436.75. The stock has a market cap of $155.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $77.90 and a 1 year high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.48%.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish on Western Digital’s growth outlook. Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $3.56 and revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year. Fiscal 2027 catalysts include rising hyperscale demand, improving margins, 40TB drive launches and HAMR technology. Prediction: This Memory Stock Will Soar 165% in 3 Years
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital was highlighted as a top momentum and growth stock, with commentary pointing to strong earnings trends, AI-driven storage demand, cash generation and a potential memory shortage. Brokerages collectively maintain a “Moderate Buy” rating, with a consensus target price above the current trading level. Western Digital Is a Top-Ranked Growth Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital will present at Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference on September 9. The event may provide updates on demand, pricing and its product ramp, but the announcement included no new guidance. WD to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 919 shares in two transactions under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sales reduced her holdings only marginally and are unlikely to materially change the investment case. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Profit-taking and sector rotation ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report have pressured high-flying AI, memory and semiconductor stocks, including WDC. Investors are also monitoring valuation risk, cloud-customer concentration and execution requirements for upcoming products. Memory and Semiconductor Stocks Fall Ahead of Nvidia Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple could source memory chips from Chinese suppliers have raised concerns about competition and pricing throughout the memory industry. A discounted 8TB WD My Book drive on Amazon is consumer-oriented news with little direct effect on WDC’s investment outlook. WD 8TB My Book External Hard Drive Price Cut

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.