Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 3,201 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 75,610 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,201 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $34,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WDC. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 182.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 65 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital shares climbed as investors bought back into the stock following the recent decline; peer storage names also rallied, suggesting a sector-wide rebound contributed. Western Digital climbs amid rebound from recent selloff
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlights Western Digital’s exposure to AI-driven storage demand, including cloud growth and adoption of higher-capacity hard drives, with strong growth prospects cited for fiscal 2027. This supports the longer-term bull case, though it is not a new company announcement. Western Digital and the AI storage boom
• Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest report says short interest was zero shares as of November 10, despite describing it as a significant increase. The figures appear inconsistent and do not provide clear evidence of short-covering as a catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Law firm Levi & Korsinsky announced an investigation into possible fiduciary-duty breaches by certain Western Digital officers and directors. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but may add a legal and reputational overhang. Shareholder investigation announcement

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $306,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 108,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,392,640. The trade was a 0.74% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,436 shares of company stock worth $2,440,664. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho set a $490.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Summit Insights lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.04.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $289.20 on Wednesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $132.43 and a 1-year high of $799.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $400.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.44. The company has a market capitalization of $108.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.27.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.1750 per share. 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. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 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.