Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stake Cut by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 32.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,457 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 2,182 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter worth $350,403,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $313.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $117.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $397.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $419.83. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $132.43 and a 1-year high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. Research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $0.1750 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.72%.

Western Digital News Roundup

Investors following WDC have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: A rebound across AI and storage hardware shares is helping WDC recover after a sharp pullback. Investors are also weighing its recent earnings beat, strong revenue growth, raised near-term outlook and dividend increase as signs of business momentum and cash generation. Why Western Digital Stock Is Up Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary sees WDC’s valuation as potentially reasonable relative to its earnings, but notes that the stock’s steep gains over the past three years and recent volatility leave investors debating how much future growth is already reflected in the share price. Western Digital Stock Looks Reasonable Despite AI Data Center Fears
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include concerns about the sustainability and financing of AI infrastructure spending, which could affect expectations for data-center demand. A shareholder-law-firm investigation announced earlier this week is also a potential, though unsubstantiated, legal overhang. Shareholder Investigation Announcement

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,436 shares of company stock valued at $2,440,664. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WDC. Robert W. Baird set a $900.00 target price on Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.04.

Western Digital Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops and supplies hard disk drives (HDDs) and related data-storage products. Its drives serve data centers and cloud providers, as well as businesses and consumers who need storage for computers, network-attached storage systems, surveillance and other applications. Its product brands include WD and Ultrastar. Founded in 1970, the company began as an electronics and semiconductor business before expanding into data storage. In February 2025, Western Digital completed the separation of its flash-memory business into the independently traded SanDisk Corporation, leaving Western Digital focused on HDDs.