Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,138 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 5,862 shares during the period. Western Digital makes up approximately 0.9% of Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $14,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Western Digital by 12.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,317 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth about $34,244,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 25,987 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,778,000 after buying an additional 4,068 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $2,270,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $531.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71 and a beta of 2.10. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $51.17 and a 1 year high of $553.50. The business’s 50-day moving average is $396.29 and its 200 day moving average is $281.03.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $405.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. New Street Research set a $250.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% 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, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 214 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.63, for a total value of $115,480.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 117,157 shares in the company, valued at $63,221,431.91. The trade was a 0.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 54,405 shares of company stock valued at $18,575,428 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is benefiting from broad strength across memory and storage stocks, with investors betting that AI infrastructure demand will keep pricing and demand elevated for HDDs and SSDs. Not Just Micron: Memory Melt-Up Pulls SanDisk Up 8%, Western Digital Up 10%
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage points to continued gross margin improvement, with Q3 gross margin jumping to 50.5% and Q4 guidance calling for 51%-52%, helped by higher-capacity drives, better pricing, and cost controls. Can Western Digital Deliver Continued Gross Margin Improvement?
• Positive Sentiment: The company appointed former Nvidia executive Manuvir Das to its board, reinforcing the view that Western Digital is positioning itself more directly around AI and data-center growth opportunities. WD Appoints Manuvir Das to Board of Directors
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also highlighted Western Digital as underappreciated relative to peers, with hard disk drives still seen as critical to AI storage infrastructure. Western Digital Is Making the Right Moves Amid Fierce Momentum for Memory Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: One analyst piece argued Western Digital stacks up poorly versus peers like Micron, which could temper enthusiasm even as the broader sector remains strong. Western Digital Stacks Up Poorly To Peers Like Micron, Don’t Buy Here
• Neutral Sentiment: An insider sale by Cynthia Tregillis was disclosed, but it was small and made under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, so it does not appear to be a major warning sign. SEC filing

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.