Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC Purchases 2,020 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 154.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,327 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares during the quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $456,884,000 after acquiring an additional 384,103 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,972,703 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $512,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228,661 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,809,409 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $483,977,000 after purchasing an additional 159,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 13.0%

Shares of WDC opened at $451.52 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $73.14 and a twelve month high of $799.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $567.55 and a 200-day moving average of $417.23.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 50.22%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 3.58%.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported adjusted earnings of $3.56 per share, above the $3.31 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, also exceeding forecasts. Western Digital Q4 Earnings Beat as Revenue Jumps 44% on Cloud Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited strong cloud and AI-related storage demand, pricing gains and adoption of higher-capacity products. The company said some AI customers are negotiating storage capacity commitments through 2031, providing long-term demand visibility. Western Digital Says AI Customers Are Already Negotiating Storage Deals Through 2031
• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue guidance of $4.0 billion to $4.2 billion and adjusted EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.15 were above consensus estimates. Several analysts maintained bullish views, including Baird, which raised its price target to $630. Western Digital Earns Buy Rating as Analyst Lifts Price Target to $630

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 5,093 shares of company stock worth $2,751,337 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho set a $590.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $536.96.

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.