Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stake Lifted by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 15.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,048 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,797 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $9,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $888,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 5,436 shares of company stock valued at $2,440,664 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

Investors following WDC have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital guided for about $5.1 billion in quarterly revenue and gross margins as high as 61%. The company’s strong outlook helped lift AI- and storage-related shares in the prior session. Western Digital Stocks Climb as AI Storage Names Rebound
• Neutral Sentiment: After a steep pullback, some coverage argues WDC’s valuation and technical signals could present an opportunity. However, the stock’s sharp swings make the timing and durability of a recovery uncertain. SanDisk, Western Digital Are Down 60%—Are Memory Investors Getting a Second Chance?
• Negative Sentiment: Reported open-market insider transactions over the past six months were sales, with no purchases noted. That may add to caution amid the stock’s recent volatility, although insider sales alone do not establish a bearish outlook. Why Western Digital Stock Is Up Today

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $311.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $116.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $394.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $420.18. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $132.43 and a one 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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 69.20% and a return on equity of 55.62%. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.1750 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 2.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Western Digital from $540.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.04.

About Western Digital

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.