2,509,592 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Bought by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,509,592 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,602,927,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.73% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays upped 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $435.38 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $547.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $435.48. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $76.70 and a one year high of $799.87. The firm has a market cap of $150.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 2.14.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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 payout ratio is 2.48%.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.56 per share, revenue of $3.75 billion and year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 44%. Analysts say accelerating AI and cloud-storage demand, improving margins and the planned ramp of 40TB drives and HAMR technology support the company’s fiscal 2027 outlook. WDC’s Strong Q4 Raises the Stakes for Its Fiscal 2027 Product Ramp
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary continues to view WDC as attractively positioned for growth because AI data centers require increasing storage capacity. However, the bullish case depends on successful product execution and sustained cloud spending. Western Digital: Time To Jump In Before Beast Mode Arrives Again
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital will participate in Citi’s 2026 Global TMT Conference on September 9. Management’s presentation could provide additional commentary on demand, pricing and the fiscal 2027 product ramp, but the announcement itself contains no new financial guidance. WD to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Cynthia L. Tregillis sold a combined 919 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sales represent a small reduction in her holdings and are less significant as a bearish signal because they were scheduled in advance. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors have rotated out of high-performing AI-chip and memory names ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report, weighing on WDC along with Micron and Seagate even though underlying storage demand remains firm. Micron, Seagate, Western Digital, Semtech, and Penguin Solutions Shares Are Falling
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple may source memory chips from Chinese suppliers have intensified concerns about competition and future pricing across the memory industry. WDC’s premium valuation, concentration in cloud customers and the need to execute its product ramp add to investor caution. Memory Stocks Slide on Report Apple May Source Chinese Chips

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 684 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $446.17, for a total transaction of $305,180.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 112,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,036,180.82. The trade was a 0.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 25,598 shares of company stock worth $11,868,944 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.