Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock: Virtus Advisers LLC Cuts Position

Virtus Advisers LLC lessened its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 91.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,655 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 17,732 shares during the period. Virtus Advisers LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $752,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $627,606,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Susquehanna set a $405.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued 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 a consensus target price of $591.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,650,465.80. This trade 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 through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, 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 sold 5,436 shares of company stock worth $2,440,664 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 5.0%

WDC traded down $15.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $295.65. 4,794,037 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,012,382. The company’s 50-day moving average is $391.72 and its 200 day moving average is $420.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 2.27. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $132.43 and a 52 week high of $799.87.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Western Digital Company 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.