Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock Position Lifted by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 71.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,578 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,078 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.07% of Western Digital worth $147,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 7.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $438.34 on Tuesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $73.14 and a 1-year high of $799.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $563.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $420.25. The company has a market capitalization of $151.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 18.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $3.75 billion and net income of $3.20 billion, while full-year revenue reached $12.92 billion. Results exceeded expectations, and management said AI customers are negotiating multiyear storage agreements, improving demand visibility as data-intensive workloads expand. Western Digital earnings and dividend article
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a $0.15-per-share cash dividend payable in September 2026, adding shareholder returns to an already strong earnings-growth narrative. Western Digital has also been highlighted as a potentially attractive discounted opportunity within the memory sector after its pullback. Memory sector stock article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary points to a broader memory-industry correction. SanDisk’s dramatic post-spinoff rally and subsequent pullback, along with Micron’s AI-related gains, are increasing volatility across storage and memory stocks. These developments may support long-term demand for Western Digital but also raise concerns about crowded AI trades and sector-wide profit taking. SanDisk breakout article
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have become more cautious after the earnings rally. Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital to “Hold,” while Rosenblatt Securities lowered its price target to $800. The downgrades reinforce concerns that much of the expected AI and memory upside may already be reflected in the stock. Western Digital analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also questioning the durability of the cyclical upcycle. Commentary highlights Western Digital’s elevated valuation and the risk that memory shortages, supply responses or weaker demand could eventually pressure margins. Those concerns are contributing to the stock’s post-earnings decline despite strong reported results. Western Digital valuation and cycle article

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total value of $427,941.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 114,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,663,290.57. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,813.56. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,093 shares of company stock worth $2,751,337. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.