Czech National Bank Buys 5,774 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Czech National Bank grew its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,110 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,774 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $62,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,270,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,122,095 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $193,303,000 after acquiring an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $20,889,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Western Digital by 145.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,950 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Western Digital by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 342,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $59,040,000 after purchasing an additional 131,247 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price target on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $536.96.

Western Digital Stock Down 13.0%

WDC stock opened at $451.52 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $567.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $417.23. The company has a market cap of $155.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $73.14 and a twelve month high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 50.22% and a net margin of 72.95%.The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 17.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital 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 value of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total value of $427,941.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 114,539 shares in the company, valued at $60,663,290.57. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,093 shares of company stock worth $2,751,337. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

Western Digital Profile

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.