1,992 Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 1,992 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $27,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $740.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Two investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.04.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $295.65 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $132.43 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 2.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $391.72 and its 200 day moving average is $420.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.1750 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% 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. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,436 shares of company stock worth $2,440,664. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.