Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $127.33 Million Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lessened its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 199,352 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 20,106 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Western Digital worth $127,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WDC. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,650,465.80. The trade was a 0.89% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,117 shares of company stock worth $12,053,353. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s long-term outlook remains supported by demand for AI infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise storage, automotive systems and other data-intensive applications. Analysts at Zacks continue to identify WDC as a potential beneficiary of strong memory and storage demand, particularly following Nvidia’s solid results. 4 High-Flying Memory and Storage Giants
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results provide fundamental support: revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, while earnings of $3.56 per share exceeded expectations. Guidance for $3.85 to $4.15 in next-quarter EPS also remains constructive.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus remains bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target above the current trading level. Several firms have cited continued AI and storage demand as reasons for further upside. Wall Street’s Bullish Views on WDC
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Cynthia Tregillis sold a small portion of her holdings under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transactions modestly reduce her position but do not necessarily signal deteriorating confidence. Cynthia Tregillis Insider Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage stocks sold off even after Nvidia reported strong results, suggesting investors are taking profits from an extended AI trade and differentiating among suppliers. Western Digital’s underperformance versus peers has amplified concern that expectations or valuation may have become too aggressive. Why Memory Stocks Fell Despite Nvidia’s Results

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC opened at $459.45 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $526.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WDC. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Company 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.